


Unworldly Lover

by Shinocchi



Series: Same Heart; Different Universe [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Birthday Fluff, Blow Jobs, M/M, Rimming, Teacher-Student Relationship, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-31
Updated: 2014-04-24
Packaged: 2018-01-10 17:24:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinocchi/pseuds/Shinocchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Koujaku recommended him to work as a temporary tutor in the local elite school, Aoba never thought that he would be facing more problems than he expected. The school wasn't as elite as he thought; he had a chaotic class to handle; and on top of all, one of the most troublesome students was put under his care and Aoba wasn't sure if his inexperienced would turn the delinquent into a better, or a worse person.</p><p>But Aoba knew one thing for sure - his life was bound to change the moment he stepped into the school, and the moment he met <i>him</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unworldly Acquaintance

**Author's Note:**

> Fluffy AU NoiAo fic written for Valentine's Day. Final chapter to be released on Valentine's itself :) The fic will be focusing a lot on Noiz and Aoba, with Koujaku playing the next important role in the story. Tags and rating will change as the story progresses. 
> 
> Self-beta'd and I apologize for any mistakes and errors.

“Woah.” 

When Koujaku recommended him to work temporarily as a tutor, he never expected his next workplace to be so embellishing. Midorijima Private High School was located in the upper-class district of the island. It was a school only students who were specifically chosen could join. The school was located at a good distance away from Aoba’s house, which was located in a commoner area. The gap between the upper-class and the common-class was quite huge and the fact that Aoba was able to be part of this high-end community was too overwhelming for him to accept. The honorable feeling he got toned down the his concern about the distance between his house and his new workplace, even when that also meant that he needed to wake up two hours earlier every morning to make it to school on time. But perhaps the most important reason why he accepted the offer was because he dreadfully needed a job. He needed to feed his grandma and his brother, not to mention that he also wanted to get out from his high work changing rate. 

Standing in front of the gigantic school gate, Aoba gaped as he stared at the humongous building and was only snapped back to his senses when huge waves of students started to rush their way into the school compound. He was never lucky enough to set his foot into such a magnificent school, let alone actually studying here. Both he and his brother graduated from a local school and that was already more than enough for him. He wasn’t looking for a luxurious lifestyle. All he wanted was for his family to be happy. But things would be different now, he realized. He would need to change his mindset now that he was _part of_ this high-end community. His usual perceptions may not be applicable to how things worked here, and he would need a lot of help on that. 

And this was where Koujaku came in. 

Koujaku knew a lot of people from different parts of the society. The entire Midorijima was his friend. He had always been the social butterfly and that had always been Aoba’s impression towards him ever since they met. Speaking of Koujaku, Aoba suddenly realized that he couldn’t be standing here and gaping at the reality he was about to face forever. He needed to find his childhood friend to get things started. Taking a deep breath, he stepped pass the school gate, into the school compound, and walked on the tiled pathway, feeling brutally self-conscious as he felt the many eyes on him. 

\--

 

The school was like a maze. Aoba had intentionally sacrificed an extra hour of sleep so that he could familiarize himself with the place. But the more corners he turned, the more he felt that he should’ve sacrificed three hours of sleep instead. After turning around blindly for what felt like forever, he finally found himself standing in front of the staff room. He took another deep breath, knocked on the door, and slid it open. The staff room was filled with people, all of them looked a lot more matured, and – feeling the stab on his dignity – a lot bigger than him. He wasn’t very ashamed of his own height but at least he never felt as self-conscious as today from his past working experiences. He gulped and looked around. When he spotted the sense of familiarity he was desperately looking for, he broke into his first perky smile of the day and rushed towards it. 

“Koujaku!” 

Koujaku was talking to a tanned, lofty man when Aoba hurried towards him. Upon hearing his name, he turned around and returned Aoba’s gleeful smile with his own charming one as he grabbed his childhood friend’s arm and pointed to the muscular man he was talking to before Aoba interrupted them. 

“I’m glad you make it here safely,” Koujaku smiled. “Since we are here, might as well introduce you to my colleague.” 

Aoba nodded timidly as he tried to fake an amused smile and looked at the stranger who was supposed to be his colleague from today onwards. 

“Aoba, this is Mink. He is the P.E. teacher of the school, as you would’ve noticed,” Koujaku joked mockingly. “Mink, this is Aoba. He’ll be with us temporarily as a tutor. Don’t worry, although he’s a bit petite, I can assure you that he’s a very valuable asset.” 

“Hey! That’s rude!” Aoba pouted and scowled at Koujaku. 

Mink nodded lightly at Aoba and held out a hand, which Aoba took. His grip was firm, and the moment their hands touched, Aoba instantly felt the overpowering strength of Mink’s over his. Now he saw where Koujaku’s joke came from. 

“Did you face any difficulties reaching here?” Koujaku asked, concerned. 

“I got lost a few times but other than that, everything was fine.” 

“Ah, we get that a lot from new staffs. Don’t worry, you’ll get use to the place soon enough,” Koujaku patted Aoba on the shoulder when the school bell rang. “Oops, I guess we better get down to business then.” 

After bidding a fast farewell to Mink, Koujaku led Aoba out of the staff room and headed towards the classroom that Aoba was assigned to. Koujaku was initially the homeroom teacher for class 3-C but as he was being shouldered with more responsibilities over time, he realized that his work had started to consume him and thus, it created a chance for him to pull Aoba in so that he could assist him. 

Aoba walked nervously behind Koujaku, glancing around as they walked along the now-quiet corridor. Realizing the change of behavior, Koujaku turned his head and glimpsed at him, giving him a comforting smile as he spoke. 

“Don’t worry, Aoba. You’ll be fine.” 

“You’re starting to sound like a real old man. I’ve heard you said ‘don’t worry’ for three times already,” Aoba retorted. 

“Haha! Well, that’s because you won’t _stop_ worrying,” Koujaku grinned. “I know this is your first experience with a tutoring job, but the class you’re assigned to is a small class and it shouldn’t be too much of a problem knowing everyone in there. Just one thing,” Koujaku stopped in front of a classroom with a small ‘3-C’ sign plated neatly on the door. “..it could be _slightly_ chaotic.” And he opened the door. 

Before Aoba could properly understand what Koujaku meant by ‘slightly chaotic’, he realized there was no need for it at all when they stepped into the classroom. 

Suddenly, Aoba felt extremely grateful for not being chosen to study here when he was younger. 

The class was in a total mess. It was true that there were not many students in the class. One glance of it told Aoba that there were probably only around twenty students, definitely less than thirty. On top of that, it didn't feel like a classroom at all: tables were messily located; some students were sleeping; some gambling. The blackboard was covered with cursing in horrible handwriting, and rubbish were scattered everywhere. Wasn't this school supposed to be an elite school? Aoba gawked at the scene and looked at Koujaku for an answer, only to be responded by a bitter smile as Koujaku led him to the front of the class. 

“QUIET!” 

Koujaku shouted. The class fell into instant silence. The guys scrambled back to their seats, while the girls fought for the front seats and when they were seated down, they stared at Koujaku with eyes so bright Aoba felt them ridiculously blinding. So Koujaku’s charm worked here too, huh? 

Coughing softly, Koujaku then started speaking in a loud and clear voice. 

“Good morning, class. I would like to introduce you to a new tutor today. This is Seragaki-sensei. He will be taking over my homeroom classes from today onward.” 

Aoba bowed but before he could recite his own speech, the class broke into a chaos. 

“Why are you leaving us, Koujaku-sensei?” 

“Will you not come in anymore?” 

“Why is this shorty teaching us?” 

Aoba cringed at the word ‘shorty’ but tried hard to remain composed as he looked at Koujaku again for help. Koujaku smiled apologetically at him and continued. 

“I’ll still drop by. He’s only helping me out with some classes and I request that all of you treat him properly. Please do not, _do not_ ,” – did he mention that twice? – “.. bully him and give him trouble. He’s your tutor now and please respect him.” 

The class grunted for the next few minutes and Koujaku ignored them as he turned back to Aoba and gave him a pat on the shoulder. 

“I leave them to you, alright? It could be tough, but I believe that you’ll be able to handle them. If you need help, you know who to look for,” he ended with a wink. 

Aoba merely smiled awkwardly and turned to look at the class as he felt the surge of pressure washing over him. When Koujaku said it’d be easy, this was definitely not what he’d expected. But it was too late to give up now. He needed to brace himself. These are only a bunch of kids, and he – being the adult – should not be troubled by this bunch of immature children. He would teach them about life, about the world, about everything. Aoba’s internal mantra seemed to be working as he felt himself feeling less miserable, at least he could smile properly again. 

“Ah.. that kid is not around again.” 

Lost in his own thoughts, Aoba was brought back to reality when he overheard Koujaku’s muttering beside him. 

‘That kid?’ 

He was about to ask Koujaku but he swallowed back his words when Koujaku gave him another smile, another pat on the shoulder, and walked out of the class, leaving Aoba and the twenty plus students staring awkwardly at each other as they waited for either party to break the silence. 

\--

 

Koujaku never warned him about how tiring this job could be. Cursing internally, Aoba stepped out of the classroom after three hours of awkwardness, broken only by the students’ humiliations towards both his height and his hairstyle. He almost cheered out loud when he heard the bell signaling break time ringing throughout the school and had dashed out of the classroom before anyone could stop him. Now all he had in his mind was food. Aoba was sure hunger deemed to be part of his personal trait and now that he was finally released temporarily from the anonymous stress, he could clearly hear his tummy grumbling and all he wanted now was to sit down, have a good rest, and eat. 

He somehow managed to find his way back to the staff room and – fortunately – he found Koujaku in his office. After being granted the permission to enter, he walked in and collapsed on Koujaku’s working desk, in which Koujaku ruffled his hair instinctively. 

“How was the class?” the senior tutor asked. 

“It was Hell, Koujaku. It was worse than any other job I've worked before. I won’t trust you again, ever,” Aoba complained and stared angrily at Koujaku. 

“Don’t give up. It’s only the first day. It’ll get better.” 

Koujaku knew that although Aoba may unintentionally complain about stuff, he wasn't entirely serious about it and most importantly, he’d known Aoba too well to understand that he wasn't a person who would give up easily. He’d promised Koujaku and he would stick with it. Plus, he really needed a job. 

“Lunch?” Aoba looked up eagerly but his expression immediately turned into a somber one when he noticed the apologetic look on Koujaku’s face. 

“I’m sorry, Aoba. I’ve got some work to settle today.” 

“You’re not eating lunch? That’s not good for health.” 

“I’ll eat, but later,” Koujaku explained. “Why not you go ahead first?” 

Feeling defeated, Aoba nodded and only managed to leave the office after he was being forced to listen to the older man’s endless apologies and promises for future meal treats. He didn't mind, to be honest. He wouldn't blame Koujaku for something he couldn't control. But perhaps, he did feel a bit…lonely. 

\--

 

After retrieving the bento his brother, Sei, had packed for him from his backpack, Aoba asked around for the direction to the cafeteria and headed there, hoping to get himself a good seat so that he could properly devour his meal. The thought of being able to eat Sei’s handmade bento brightened Aoba up. His brother cooked very well and he always made sure to prepare all his favorite dishes for him to bring to work. But his intention to eat in peace vanished the moment he saw the cafeteria. The place was so packed there was barely any place to even stand, and the line leading towards the food stall was a good representation of how a mini war zone would probably look like. Sighing, Aoba left and strolled around the school grounds, thinking for possible places which could allow him to eat in peace. Then, a switch clicked in his head and, beaming, he started to find his way to The Place, hoping that it would be as peaceful as how he imagined it to be. 

\--

 

 _Good, it’s unoccupied._  

Aoba opened the door leading to the rooftop and scanned around. It was vacant. Smiling happily, he paced around to find a comfortable spot and finally settled down in a corner. Even the rooftop of Midorijima Private High School felt different. The image of a school rooftop in Aoba’s head was always simpler, packed, and sometimes noisy. But the rooftop he was currently in was unobtrusive and uninhabited. A store room was located at where he was sitting now, although he suspected that the building was out of bound. Settling himself contentedly under the shade of said building, Aoba stretched and exhaled loudly. It had been a strenuous morning and he was only halfway through the day. The thought of having to continue his remaining day in the same manner made him cringe. Before regrets could consume his mind, he hastily opened up his bento. 

The food was delicious as always. Sei was always a good cook, at least a better learner than Aoba. Aoba had lost count on exactly how many times Tae had given up on him, and most of his cooking lessons with his grandma always ended with a few extra bumps on Aoba’s head and sometimes, a burned kitchen. Remembering the unpleasant memories, Aoba smiled bitterly and stuffed another tamago into his mouth. He was about to devour another eggplant when he realized that he was in fact, _not_ as alone as what he thought. 

First, he heard a small click. Then, a slight thump. Before he could search for the source of the sound, a green cube rolled down the roof of the store room and landed right in front of him. He looked at the green cube suspiciously and jumped when the cube started bouncing towards him. It was targeting his lunchbox. Realizing that, Aoba immediately grabbed the lunchbox out of its reach and attempted to sweep the cube away with his free hand, treating it as an untamed animal who was trying to steal his food. 

As to why he was more concerned of his food over the fact that a supposedly unanimated object was “alive” and jumping now was beyond his own apprehension. 

“Go away!” Aoba raged as he shooed vigorously at the green cube. 

“…selfish brat.” 

A voice unlike one that would belong to the green cube echoed from above him and he looked up instinctively to find himself staring at the silhouette of a man, his features obscured by the brightness of the sunlight behind him. 

Aoba scowled at the uninvited guest and raised his voice. 

“If you want food, at least have the decency to _ask_.” 

He heard a click of tongue and the shadow jumped down from the roof and landed in front of Aoba. The sun was shining at his face now, allowing Aoba to have a proper look at the intruder. He had soft blonde hair, a decent height – slightly taller than Aoba and with a slender build – and a pair of lime green eyes that portrayed unreadable emotions. Aoba stood up, intending to use his tutor position to teach the brat manners but when he had a better look at the brat’s face, he found his intended reprimand stuck in his own throat. His face was full with piercings – on the brow, the bridge of his nose, and near the bottom of his lip. He gave his ears a quick glance and realized that they were filled with piercings too. 

A delinquent? 

“I want that.” 

His voice was slightly deep, not one Aoba would expect from a high school kid, and it sounded as expressionless as his profile. He was definitely a student, his school uniform had confirmed it. And judging by the green tie hanging loosely around his neck, he must be a third-year. Midorijima Private High School used different tie colors to label their students, with red being the first-years, blue for the second-years, and green for the third-years. 

When Aoba took too long to respond, the piercing guy’s eyebrows knitted together and he stepped forward, picking a tamago off Aoba’s lunchbox and stuffed it into his mouth while Aoba gaped at his abrupt action. 

“Sweet,” he muttered. 

“Hey! I saved that for the last!” Aoba raged. 

“Whatever. If you’re not eating, I assume you don’t want it.” 

As he reached out to pick another piece of food off the lunchbox, Aoba held it away from his reach and pushed his hand away. Oh, he has piercings on his hand too, Aoba thought upon feeling the brief cold metal sensation on his finger. The short skin-to-skin contact, however, earned a massive, unexpected response from the brat as he stepped a few steps back and robustly rubbed at the spot where Aoba had touched him. The unforeseen retort surprised Aoba. Why would a guy who _obviously_ had had a bit too much of skin contact acting so exaggeratedly over a meek touch? 

“Why are you not in your school uniform?” the third-year asked, his voice small, barely a whisper. 

“Huh?” 

Aoba took a while to finally understand the circumstance he was in. The brat thought he was a student. He felt a stab at his vanity upon realizing that this kid – who was obviously younger than him – must be judging him based on his appearance. Aoba groaned. He’d received enough disgrace for his appearance already and he wasn't going to entertain more for his own good. 

“Well, obviously that’s because I’m _not_ a student.” 

The piercing guy gave him a guileless “heh” and stared at his food again. He pointed at the lunchbox and demanded. 

“I want more.” 

Unsure if he should feel exasperated or endearing at the impudence, he stepped up to the third-year and held the lunchbox under his nose. 

“Which one do you want?” 

He gave a momentary glance at the options he was presented with and looked up at Aoba again. 

“Anything.” 

“Don’t you have your own lunch?” 

“No.” 

His reply was simple but Aoba was fast enough to notice the slight fervor gleam in his eyes when he stared a bit too long at his food. Sighing, Aoba retrieved the cover of his lunchbox from where he was seated few minutes ago and filled it up with some of his personal favorites. The young student simply stared and scowled carelessly at Aoba when the tutor passed the lunchbox cover – now filled with food – to him. 

“Take it,” Aoba persuaded, pushing the cover closer to him. 

The third-year gave him a momentary stare, took the cover, and climbed up the roof before Aoba could stop him. So he only came down to raid his food? Aoba thought as he retreated back to his shade. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” 

Trying to strike a conversation, he asked loudly. But the only reply he received was silence, and more silence, as both of them gobble their food down quietly. Confidently convinced that he was only interested with his food, Aoba smiled and shook his head, wondering how much more oddities he could stomach for the rest of his day. 

\--

 

Finally survived the day, Aoba leaned against the school gate, whistling casually as he waited for Koujaku. Their homes were merely a few steps away from each other and he figured that it would be good to be able to finally catch up with Koujaku after not seeing him for more than half a day. They had known each other for the longest time ever – to be precise, ever since they were young and knew nothing about the world – and there were some things that they did with and to each other mutually. Koujaku would expect Aoba to wait for him, without the need for Aoba to inform him beforehand. As expected, the blue-haired man saw Koujaku running breathlessly towards him after a few minutes of wait, a stack of books under his arm. 

“I’m sorry, Aoba! Got caught up with some work,” Koujaku panted as he stood in front of Aoba and tried to catch his breath. 

“It’s okay. You’re just being _as busy as usual,_ ” Aoba taunted, shooting Koujaku with a playful look and a mischievous grin. 

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” 

“So, how many girls earned your _precious_ farewell kiss today?” Aoba teased further. 

“C’mon, Aoba. It’s nothing like that. I was really busy with work, _real_ work,” Koujaku defended.

“Yeah, yeah. _Work_.” 

Aoba knew that Koujaku wasn’t lying, and Koujaku knew that Aoba was teasing him on purpose. This was just another of their daily habitual interaction, it was a proud symbol of their friendship. 

They joined the crowd of students heading out of the school grounds and started to walk their way home. Aoba enthusiastically told Koujaku about his day – how students snickered at his hairstyle; how he had to throw a chalk at a student for sleeping in class; how the girls asked him about his relationship status; how Sei made one of the best-tasting eggplants in the world. He was about to tell Koujaku about the mysterious brat he’d met on the rooftop when he suddenly stopped. 

“Aoba? What’s wrong?” 

Noticing that his now-colleague had stopped walking, Koujaku looked back and saw that Aoba was eyeing at something else. He followed his gaze and immediately found what he was staring at. 

 _The brat_. 

The third-year Aoba had encountered earlier was glaring at them from a few steps ahead. His gaze wandered from Koujaku to Aoba, then back to Koujaku, for whom he stared a few seconds longer than when he had his eyes stuck on Aoba. Before Aoba could call out to him, he turned his back towards them and hurried away. Koujaku was faster to respond, though. He ran towards the brat and attempted to call him back but he disappeared within seconds and Koujaku returned, defeated. 

“You know him?” Aoba asked. 

“Ah…I guess so,” Koujaku answered, scratching his head and looking repentantly at Aoba, as if he was apologizing on behalf of the brat’s disrespectful behavior. “He’s one of the most troublesome students I’ve ever met, to be honest. And,” Koujaku’s gaze turned from a remorseful one to a guilt-ridden one. “He’s also one of the reasons I need you here.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, I figured that you might be a better counselor than me, you know,” Aoba gaped at him. “…your age differences aren't that far apart and both of you are transferee. Probably you could click better with him.” 

“He’s a transfer student?” Aoba asked again, still contemplating if he should tell Koujaku that he’d met him earlier that day. 

Koujaku stared at the spot where the student had vanished minutes ago and back to Aoba, who was waiting for an answer. 

“Let’s go for a drink, Aoba. To celebrate your first day of work and also,” Koujaku smiled gently. “..to talk about that student.” 

Aoba merely nodded.

 

 


	2. Discerntment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba got to know more about The Piercing Guy On the Rooftop, both from his best friend, and the brat himself. The outcome was too surreal for him to stomach.

Hanging out in the bar was part of their favorite pastimes. Once Aoba had reached his legal age, Koujaku had dragged him into a local bar and forced down a few cups of beer on him. That was when he discovered how low Aoba’s alcohol tolerance was and ever since then, Koujaku had assumed the responsibility of ensuring that Aoba only drank optimal amount of alcohol to prevent the need to carry him home and risk facing an outrageous Tae along with an upset Sei, whose stare never failed to make him feel pitilessly guilty. After ordering their drinks – Koujaku with his usual Sake Bomb and Aoba a Vesper – they continued pointlessly with Aoba’s first day of work until Aoba reminded Koujaku about the other purpose of them being here in the first place. 

It seemed to be a tough topic for Koujaku as he gulped down a huge mouthful of his beer before he turned and faced Aoba with slight red on his cheeks. It was unusual for Aoba to witness Koujaku being so conflicted over something and that fact increased his curiosity further. 

“His name is Noiz.” 

Ah, a name is probably a good place to start, Aoba wondered as he strained his ears, trying to listen to every word Koujaku was saying over the unbearable surrounding noises. Perhaps a bar wasn’t a good place to talk about this, after all. 

“I understand he’s also a third-year? I saw the color of his tie.” Aoba asked, trying to help Koujaku out with his explanation. 

“Technically, yeah.” 

“’Technically’?” Aoba questioned. 

“He was supposed to graduate two years ago. He got transferred into third-year and was stuck there ever since. Man, he could possibly be the oldest student in the school,” Koujaku chuckled at his own joke. 

“What happened?” Aoba pursued further. Now he was really interested with The Student with Piercings. 

Koujaku took another mouthful of beer. “He was doing well for the first two semesters. But as you can see, he wasn’t really outgoing and he can be quite insolent, so he used to get into a lot of trouble during his time here,” Koujaku paused, a frown forming in between his eyebrows. “And after that one incident, he changed.” 

There was a brief silence between them as Aoba waited for Koujaku to continue the story. The senior tutor seemed to be struggling to find the suitable words to describe the circumstance but he was obviously facing difficulties doing so when Aoba noticed his frowns deepened. 

“Was it something…bad?” Aoba knew he was asking the obvious, but he couldn’t think of anything better to probe words out of Koujaku at that moment of time. 

“It wasn’t _that_ bad, I suppose. But the problem is, I couldn’t figure out what made him change.” 

“Is it something classified?” Aoba asked carefully, his curiosity winning over his consideration. 

“..Not really,” Finishing his beer, Koujaku set the beer cup down and lighted up his cigarette. “He got into a serious fight with a group of delinquents from another school. I don’t know what the problem between them was but he was outnumbered. I was in charge of school ground inspection that day and I found them in the backyard.” 

Aoba tried to paint the picture. Noiz was not particularly muscular. He was slightly taller than Aoba, and although Aoba only had a good momentary glimpse of his body, he knew that he wasn’t particularly built enough for group fights. But Aoba wasn’t surprised to know that he was involved with a group of delinquents. He _did_ look like a delinquent himself, anyway. Even so, the idea of Noiz being surrounded by a group of vengeance-looking wrongdoers with no one to help him out sent small trembles down his body. Swallowing hard, Aoba shifted his gaze from his cocktail to Koujaku, who was blowing smoke out of his mouth and staring blankly into space. 

“It was obviously an unfair game. If I remember correctly, it was six against one, and I just _had_ to step in. Strangely, he didn’t fight back at all. He didn’t even defend himself. I can’t imagine what will happen to him if I was not there and.. Argh, but to be honest,” Koujaku dimmed his cigarette and sighed heavily. “I don’t even understand the kid. He barely talks, and he barely shows up in class ever since that time. Even when I try talking to him, he doesn’t respond much. I’ve got no idea what’s in his head at all.” 

Koujaku’s puzzle pieces triggered Aoba’s search of his memory for the Noiz he knew. His first impression of Noiz was that he was indeed an insolent brat, but not annoying enough for Aoba to launch a punch at him. He could be rude and ill-mannered, but those weren’t valid reasons for anyone to give him any sort of aggressive physical treatment. All Aoba could see was a senseless brat, one who had yet to know about the world, and one who was still confused with what to do with his own life. It was a common stage everyone had to go through in the midst of growing up. Plus, although Aoba knew that this was definitely not a valid point, he had to admit that Noiz was pretty good-looking. In fact, he was the kind of guy who could easily charm any girl if he ever tried. Blushing at the thought that he was getting carried away with the looks of a _guy_ , Aoba hastily gulped a mouthful of his cocktail to wash the thought away. Who was he to judge Noiz, anyway? They barely knew each other! 

“So when you said you wanted me to help you….?” Aoba asked as he tried to divert his thoughts away. 

Koujaku hesitated again. His face was redder now but Aoba was sure that it’d gotten rosier when Aoba asked him the question. 

“He used to be an intelligent student. Top in everything. Absolutely brilliant. But then he stopped attending classes, never appeared in any exams, and was barely seen in the school grounds. I’ve tried to catch hold of him every time I see him but well, as you can see, he just refuses to talk to me,” Koujaku sighed deeply. “Then I thought perhaps I’m not the right person to approach him after all. And that’s where you come in.” 

Aoba gulped. “You think I can do a better job than you? No way, Koujaku. I’m still new to the job and I’m not exactly the sociable person myself. You should know that!” 

“Like I said, Aoba. He’s nineteen and you’re twenty-three. At least your age gap isn’t as huge as compared to mine. Plus, both of you are transferees, perhaps you can understand him better than I do.” 

“But….” Aoba wavered. He wanted to help Noiz but the possibility that he might change things for the worse consumed him and he hesitated. The last thing he wanted for his career was to ruin people’s life and he was dead sure that he wasn’t prepared for a huge responsibility like this. 

“At least try it out?” Koujaku suggested as he stared firmly into Aoba’s eyes. 

.

..

… 

Aoba groaned. He could never win against Koujaku. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

Koujaku broke into a tender smile. 

“Thank you.” 

\--

 

Aoba smiled as he opened the door to find the rooftop being unoccupied again. He’d rejected Koujaku’s lunch offer with Mink and had headed straight to the rooftop the moment the bell rang. Reaching his “usual” place, he looked up at the roof of the store room and found Noiz lying on top of it, his expression unreadable as usual as he stared thoughtlessly at the sky. 

“Hey, Noiz!” he called out. 

The unexpected address of his name successfully captured Noiz’s attention and he looked down at him. But upon seeing the owner of the voice, he ignored Aoba and returned his attention to the sky. Aoba pouted and waved the lunchboxes at him. 

“You want to eat together? I made one for you as well.” 

That seemed to do the trick. Noiz looked down at him again, suspicions evident on his face. Well, at least it was better than the unresponsive profile he wore earlier. After a few moments of contemplations, he jumped down and stepped up to Aoba, who smiled gently at him and passed him the lunchbox. 

“Here you go.” 

Noiz still had his uncertainties but when Aoba sat under the shade and started consuming his own food, he walked and sat beside him as he proceeded to open up the lunchbox and stared at the content inside. 

“Well, I lied. I didn’t make this. But Sei cooks wonderful dishes. I wouldn’t mind eating the food he cooks for the rest of my life. Oh, Sei is my brother, by the way. We’re twins,” Aoba explained, without caring if Noiz was even interested with the topic. He just needed to keep talking. 

As expected, Noiz didn’t respond to Aoba. He stared at his food for a few more seconds before he poked Aoba roughly on the arm and pointed at one of the contents inside. 

“What is this?” He asked with his forefinger pointed at a takoyaki. 

Feeling a weird pool of warmth in his chest, Aoba replied happily. “This is called takoyaki. Octopus ball.” 

A small frown appeared in between Noiz’s eyebrows as he tried to key in the new information into his brain data. Aoba waited for his next response but when none came, he realized that he needed to make the initiative before they ended up in constant silence like yesterday. 

“You like it here? I see you’re always spending time here.” 

Silence. 

“I used to spend a lot of time on the rooftop of my old school too,” Aoba stuffed another egg roll into his mouth and smiled nostalgically at the memory. “It was kind of noisy but I guess the clatter was what made me feel happy. It made me feel like a real student.” 

There was no response again. 

Smiling bitterly, Aoba peeked at Noiz and saw that he was giving Aoba zero attention and was munching on his food. This was when Aoba figured that he should be going into deeper matters to catch his attention, at least to make him respond. 

“Why are you skipping classes?” 

The frown on Noiz’s face deepened and Aoba knew he’d succeeded, although he might’ve potentially annoyed him. Glancing sideways at Aoba, Noiz replied. 

“There’s no need to attend classes.” 

The simple reply was all Aoba needed to sense the intelligence and egotism in him. But he knew he didn't mean it literally. There must be more stories behind this secretive guy and he wanted to dig them all out. He needed Noiz to be more open with him. He didn't know why he was so trustful towards a guy he’d met for only a day but he guessed his gut feeling had got the better of him. 

“Why didn't you go for exams? Why are you staying back on purpose?” 

The words rolled out of Aoba’s mouth before he could stop himself and he instantly regretted his choice of question when he saw Noiz turning around and staring viciously at him. 

“It’s none of your business.” He pushed the lunchbox back at the tutor, stood up, and attempted to climb up the roof when Aoba grabbed his wrist. 

“Wait! We’re worried! We want to help you!” Aoba explained desperately. He wanted Noiz to listen to him, to make Noiz understand, and to enlighten him. He was a gifted child. He didn't deserve to stay in high school forever and he didn't deserve to waste his supposedly meaningful life here. 

“’We?’” Noiz repeated, then his eyes brightened up. “Oh, I see.” 

Sensing a chance, Aoba clarified immediately. “Me. And Koujaku too.” 

When he heard Koujaku’s name, Noiz’s scowl deepened and his face turned into a vengeance expression, so fearful it made Aoba gulp. He didn't know Noiz could display such emotions, and he didn't know what the trigger was. Was it something he said? But he’d only mentioned himself…and Koujaku. 

“Please, we’re just trying to help,” Aoba pleaded again as he tightened his grip on Noiz’s wrist. 

Noiz glared at Aoba for a brief moment before he forcefully pulled his wrist off. 

“Don’t touch me.” His voice was barely a whisper but there was no mistaken the fury in it. 

Aoba felt slightly relieved when Noiz sat back down and opened up the lunchbox again. He didn't know what elicited his interest, but he wasn't going to allow the chance to slip away again. 

“Koujaku and I are childhood friends. We grew up together and we stay very near to each other,” Aoba continued. “He’s really a good friend.” 

Noiz kept to himself again, both his eyes and mouth focusing on the food but Aoba knew he was listening. He needed to keep the flow going. 

“He was also the one who brought me into this school. Honestly, I never thought that I would have the chance to even come close to this place. You see, my family isn't really well-off, so me and my brother went to a –“ 

“Are both of you dating?” 

“Huh?” 

Noiz had interrupted Aoba before he could finish speaking. But it was not the fact that Noiz had finally spoken up that surprised Aoba. It was the question he asked. He was asking if he and Koujaku were…dating? Dating, as in, going out together? As a couple? 

“No, of course not! What are you talking about?! We’re best friends! And on top of that, we’re both guys!” Aoba clarified frantically. The idea of him and Koujaku dating crept on him as unnecessary mental images started projecting in his head like a silent movie. Them holding hands; them walking on the tiled path in a garden; them kis— 

 _No, no way!_  

He felt the heat rising to his face and he hysterically gobbled down another egg roll to calm himself down while Noiz stared sideways at him, clearly not convinced. 

“Gender doesn't matter. Anyway, why are you giving out such a huge reaction if that’s not the case?” Noiz probed. 

Aoba admitted that he wanted to keep their conversation going but this was not how he’d imagined it to be. He swallowed the remaining of his egg roll and stared bewilderingly at Noiz. 

“Of course we’re not! I can’t even imagine us dating. This is too ridiculous!” 

They continued staring at each other for a few awkward seconds before Noiz shifted his gaze back to his food and stuffed another takoyaki into his mouth. 

“Then why are you so concerned about me? He must’ve asked you to keep an eye on me.” 

“That’s true, but no, no! You've got it all wrong! I didn't do this just because Koujaku asked me to. I want to know more about you. I want to help you!” 

“Why?” 

“Huh?” 

The turn of events made Aoba feel defenseless. He was supposed to have an upper hand seeing that he’d managed to start off the whole setting successfully, but a simple question from Noiz had changed the whole circumstance and now he felt as if they had just switched their positions and he was now the one being interrogated. He felt as if he was the one who needed help now. 

“Why do you want to know more about me? Why do you care? We only met for less than twenty-four hours, and we only spoke with each other for less than twenty sentences. Why?” 

Noiz’s interrogations continued and Aoba fidgeted, feeling like a criminal in question. 

“I..I don’t know,” Aoba confessed, dreadfully trying to figure himself out. “I’m your tutor. You’re a student in my class and I've got my responsibility to help you and teach you to be a better person!” 

He knew he’d rolled those words out of impulse. He wasn't even thinking clearly. And Noiz’s smirk made him realize how weak his reasons were. As he felt the tension arising in him, he forced his mind to go into turbo mode as he desperately tried to search for a better and more convincing reason to make Noiz listen to him. He no longer knew why he was so distressed with Noiz. Sure, he’d made a promise with Koujaku, but he didn't promise Koujaku that he would change Noiz effectively. He only told him that he would try his best and that he would just do what he could do. This whole situation was starting to confuse him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt as if Noiz had purposely lured him into this complication just to see his downfall. Perhaps the guy found pleasure in disgracing others. And that was probably why even Koujaku couldn't handle him. 

Aoba never realized that Noiz had come extremely close to him when he was too busy gaping away with his mind being elsewhere. It was the sudden soft and warm sensation he felt on his lips that snapped him back to reality and he jumped, pushing the blonde away and dragging himself backwards irately until his back hit the cold stone wall of the building. 

“W-What are you doing?!” Aoba exclaimed as he rubbed his lips aggressively with the back of his hand. 

“Was that your first kiss?” Noiz asked teasingly, licking his own lips and shooting Aoba with a taunting expression on his face. 

“It’s none of your business!” Aoba yelled, face flustered. “What was that for?! You better give me a good explanation, kiddo, before I sue you for sexual harassment.” 

Noiz gave him a mischievous smirk again as he advanced nearer to Aoba, moving his face so close to the older man until Aoba felt his warm breath on his own face. 

“I’d like to see you try, _sensei,_ ” Noiz whispered hotly in his ears, immediately sending a huge gush of goosebumps all over Aoba. 

Pushing Noiz away, he smacked the brat hard in his head and yelled. “I’m serious!” 

“Serious about what?” Noiz asked. “Suing me? Because I took your first kiss?” 

Aoba glared disbelievingly at Noiz. “Why did you do that?” 

“Wasn’t that what you wanted?” 

“Huh?!” 

This was getting more and more ridiculous with every passing minute. Now he finally knew what Koujaku meant. He couldn't figure the brat out. No, probably he would never know what he was thinking. His brain was probably different with normal human being’s. He must be an alien. 

“People normally approach me for only two things,” Noiz continued as he raised his forefinger to illustrate his point. “Money. Or,” He raised his middle finger alongside his forefinger. “Sex.” 

“HUH?!” Aoba yelled out loud instinctively. He wanted to retain his sanity so that he could try to properly understand Noiz’s circumstances but upon hearing his explanation, he realized that this whole thing was indeed too ridiculous for him to handle. He didn't sign up for this and now his determination started to waver. He would apologize to Koujaku and tell him that he wasn't able to handle the job and that it was too far-fetched and stressful for him. He thought his first day of work was phenomenal, but apparently the second day was worse. 

“Since no one here knew anything about my background, I assume you wanted the second choice,” Noiz lowered his forefinger as he said, showing Aoba only his middle finger as he advanced to him again and gripped the tutor’s wrist with strength. Aoba could hear the loud thumping of his own heartbeat when the third-year’s lips came dangerously close to his neck. He could feel the hot breath on his skin and upon feeling a cold metal sensation pressing against it – _Wait, what? Another piercing?_ – he came back to his senses and pushed Noiz away for the second time of the day. 

Standing up, he glared angrily at Noiz. 

“You’re wrong!” 

He gave Noiz another hard smack on the head and stormed off, wondering why he even bother with a guy like him in the first place. 

\--

 

After his usual dinner with his family, Aoba lied restlessly on his bed and stared mindlessly at his room ceiling. The event earlier that day had been looping non-stop in his mind and every time he was reminded of the two-second kiss, he irately shook his head, attempting to shake it off. Noiz was right, it _was_ his first kiss, and he wasn't going to admit it. Definitely not to a brat who was supposed to be his student. He found himself smashing his head on the pillow when a soft knock echoed from the door. 

“Aoba? Can I come in?” 

“Yeah!” 

Quickly sitting up, Aoba smiled amiably as Sei walked into the room with a plate of watermelons. The older brother settled the plate on Aoba’s writing desk and sat down beside him. 

“How was your new job?” Sei asked, his voice calm and soothing as usual. 

“It was….good, I guess.” Aoba answered slowly. 

Sei gave him a suspicious look and Aoba knew he’d failed, again. There was no way he could deceive his twin brother. Sometimes he felt as though Sei could read his mind. 

“You’re still bad at lying, Aoba.” 

“Sorry,” Aoba apologized, hugging his knees and resting his head on them as he felt Sei patting his head. 

“You want to talk about it?’ 

Sei was always kind and considerate to him. He was always the first one to notice when Aoba got into any trouble or when Aoba acted differently. Aoba was grateful with the fact that he at least he had someone to hear him out and he would do anything to help his brother if he needed any help. Nodding lightly, Aoba brought Sei through his working experience – how he felt unfitting in the new environment; how he felt stressful over the fact that he wasn't gaining enough respect to control a class of students, and how he felt breathless whenever he walked around the school compound. These were all new experiences to him and he knew he needed more time to get use to them. But sometimes he couldn't help but ranting his frustration out because the whelmed up negativity tended to make him feel uncomfortable and he would end up having a terrible headache in the next minute. He wanted to suppress them at times but Sei would always realize it before he could do so and his older brother would always make sure that he would be there when Aoba needed a pair of ears. 

Finishing his rants, Aoba leaned against Sei’s shoulder and the older one stroked his twin brother’s cheek impulsively, instantly sending a pang of warmth into Aoba’s chest as he closed his eyes and allowed a few moments of comfortable silence between them before he braced himself and asked his brother the question that he had been wanting to ask. 

“Hey, Sei. Erm, what does it mean when someone kiss you?” 

At first, Sei’s eyes widened and he looked at Aoba amusingly. Then, he gave him a gentle smile and stroked his cheek. 

“The person could be interested in you?” 

Aoba knew this wasn't the case. He knew Noiz’s wall was built pretty high and firm up and the blonde wasn't going to allow those walls to be crumbled by a guy he barely knew. 

“Or probably the person just wanted to know more about you but wasn't sure of how to do it?” Sei continued, titling his head sideways as he considered more possibilities. 

That reply made Aoba think. At this point of time, it was safe to consider Noiz as being socially awkward and it wouldn't be a surprise for him to do absurd things like these to a person just to figure him out. 

“Anyhow, I don’t think this person you’re talking about meant any harm. Who wouldn't like my cute little brother, anyway?” Sei said as he pinched Aoba on the nose, causing Aoba to break free from him and rub on his nose. 

“That’s not true!” Aoba retorted. Sei was possibly the only person in the universe who thought of Aoba in this way. But if he wanted to be downright honest with himself, he never gave serious thoughts about the idea of being involved with anyone romantically and he wasn't prepared to leave his family for _that someone_. All these while, Tae and Sei had been his only close ones, and he was more than happy for it to stay this way for the rest of his life. 

Sei merely smiled at him and patted him on the head. 

“Trust me, Aoba. You’ll take that back when you meet the person.” 

“No, I won’t.” 

Giving his retorting brother a bitter smile, Sei stood up and Aoba sent him to the door. When he was back to his own silence, Aoba slumped on his bed again, feeling the burden on his shoulder lifted off a bit now that he had spilled his frustration out. 

Yeah, he’d gotten rid of the annoying job frustrations. But before he realized it, he found his mind drifted back to the brat again. There was this one thing about Noiz that he couldn't seem to forget, and it surprised him on how much a statement from the overgrown student impacted him so much, even more than the shocking kiss. 

 _People normally approach me only for two things – money, or sex._  

What he said disturbed him more than anything else and he felt a surge of sadness whenever that quote repeated unceasingly in his head. It was not before long that he realized that he now had this crucial temptation to smack the brat hard in his head again and yelled “you are wrong!” in his ears over and over again until he stopped thinking that way. No, it shouldn't work that way. Life wasn't all about equivalent exchange. 

Noiz was too young to be infected with such horrible mindset. He needed help. And if that was the only thing that he could do well in his new job, he hoped that he could prove the immature brat wrong. He wanted to help him, even if that was the last thing he would ever do in the school.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is gonna be a _huge_ one, probably twice or thrice (considering my inability to write short pieces lmao) time the word count of the this chapter. It would focus heavily on the turning points of the fic and... I think I should stop before I start babble future progresses out xD If everything goes well, it should be up by the end of this week! :D Thanks for reading  <3


	3. Complication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba continued his effort to get closer to Noiz and realized that the 19-year-old was more complicated than he thought.

“Hey, Noiz!”

“Noiz, are you there?”

“Helloooo?”

Aoba’s voice became a daily mantra for Noiz. Ever since the tutor accidentally paved his path into Noiz’s life, the third-year had gained himself an uninvited company that took away his everyday peace. Aoba no longer asked him anything about his school life; instead, he spent most of the time talking about himself. It wasn’t difficult to sense the awkwardness in his choice of topic sometimes but Noiz decided to just close one eye and allow the unintentional mumbling to invade his ears, even when he wasn't interested with the topic. He’d never met anyone who was so tenacious with the way he lead his life. He didn't even care about how he dealt with his own life. He’d opened himself enough for _one_ person to peek through his walls, but it ended in anguish, earning him an unpleasant experience and causing him to further solidifying his already-tough walls. He’d been doing so well with pushing people away from his life until the new tutor, who had absolutely no clue about his background, forced his way into his life. No one knew anything about Noiz, not even his background, let alone what type of person he was. He’d thought that one simple, intrusive gesture he’d done on Aoba was good enough to scare him away. But apparently, he was wrong. 

When Aoba returned the next day, Noiz was genuinely surprised. He stared at the tutor for a whole minute – his smile so bright he almost dithered – before he looked away with a whole new set of questions flooding his mind. The tutor had threatened to put him in jail and he’d shown enough fury to assure Noiz that he was sufficiently pissed to stay out of his way. But apparently all the impressions Noiz previously had toward Aoba were mere misapprehensions, and it occurred to him that Aoba was in fact, a whole different person unlike the one he perceived him to be. He admitted that Aoba had managed to pique his slight interest but he wasn't curious enough to allow Aoba to climb through the walls he’d constructed so hard for years. 

“We had intensive classes before the exam season and every student got their own personal tutors. I got this ancient tutor who looked like he could drop dead any minute and every time we had those classes, I couldn't concentrate because I was so scared he would suddenly pass out in front of me,” Aoba ended and laughed at his own words. 

Noiz was quiet the entire time. His focus was always on the food, although he tended to steal a quick sideways peek at Aoba when Aoba got too indulged with his storytelling. The third-year wasn't too distant as how he was when Aoba had met him two weeks ago. Although the only time Aoba heard his voice was when he asked about names of the new food Aoba brought him, the young tutor still felt accomplished. At least he succeeded in making Noiz listen to his blabbers. He knew it’d take time, and he was willing to spend the extra time with Noiz. He wouldn't mind taking off slowly, and he would wait for the time when he could finally ask all the questions he was burning to ask. 

The days he spent with Noiz passed by in a blink of an eye. Before he knew it, he’d become Noiz’s personal food delivery man for two months. They spent most of their time with Aoba being the garrulous one and Noiz as the awkward, silent child. But Aoba still dared not touch on the topic of Noiz, and even on Koujaku. He was still playing the safe game, dared not cross the line although his instinct told him that there was a lot more story behind this overgrown brat that he could yet to approach. Their times spent together always ended with Noiz handing the lunchbox back to Aoba and Aoba promising to return the next day. There were times when they got interrupted by the intercom requesting Noiz to see the principal in the office – Noiz always left with an unpleasant, irritated expression – which riled Aoba’s curiosity greatly. Being personally summoned by the principal must be a great deal. To actually think about it, Aoba had never met the principal before, even after he’d been a staff in the school for almost three months.

 

* * *

 

Autumn came and went and before they knew it, chilling breezes started wrapping the island with constant frostiness. Winter was here. It was another one of those usual days when Aoba – wrapped tightly in his thick winter jacket – hurried towards the rooftop after being late for almost fifteen minutes. As time went by, Aoba had finally managed to grasp control of his own class. Students had stopped making fun of his height and hair and had started acknowledging him as one of the most interesting tutors in the school. Aoba was exceptionally delighted when students surprised him with a small cake to celebrate his first month in the school. He nearly broke into tears as they continued laughing at his puffy, red eyes and only stopped when he threatened to throw cakes at them for being undisciplined. That was one of those times that he hoped Noiz was part of the celebration. Noiz still refused to turn up in classes, no matter how hard Aoba hinted him to do so. 

“Noiz?” 

Aoba walked to the store room instinctively and glanced upwards to find an empty rooftop. Weird. This was the first time Noiz was missing from his usual spot. Aoba proceeded to scan around the place to find a hint of blonde but to no avail. After a while, he decided to give up and wait for him instead. Tugging the lunchboxes under his arms, Aoba suddenly thought of climbing on top of the roof like Noiz usually did. He was always curious of why Noiz liked it so much on top. He’d wait for Noiz there then, and give him a surprise, and maybe finally get him to praise him for his courageous initiative to climb up a roof. 

But those were all maybes.

He’d forgotten that it was winter and snow had accumulated on the window sill. He’d forgotten that he’d never saw Noiz climbing up ever since winter arrived. He’d forgotten that he’d never saw Noiz climbing up again after he jumped down from it upon seeing Aoba. 

With his mind abundantly occupied with Noiz, he’d forgotten all those very important details. 

And he only remembered them when he felt his leg slipped, his body slanted backwards out of control, and the next second, the whiteness of the sky filled his vision as his body fell backwards. 

It's gonna hurt, was what he thought when he fell. Closing his eyes, prepared to accept his fate, he suddenly felt a firm grip catching his swaying wrist and the next moment, he was pulled back towards the building’s wall as he let out a loud gasp reflexively. By the time he snapped back to his senses, he looked up and saw Noiz grabbing his wrist, his expression conflicted between furious and qualms. 

“Noiz!” 

“Stay still,” Noiz demanded with a stern tone. 

Aoba nodded and reached his other hand out towards him, in which Noiz grabbed instantly and with utmost strength, pulled Aoba up the roof. Once Aoba was seated safely beside Noiz, the younger male slumped on the snow-coated roof tiles and glared at Aoba, who was smiling and scratching his head apologetically. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Noiz scolded once he evened out his breathing. Aoba was still trying to calm himself down but Noiz’s reaction had replaced his initial fear with a sense of comfort and relieved. Can he assume that Noiz was worried about him? 

“I wanted to wait for you.” 

“You can wait down there. Was it necessary to climb up?” 

Aoba fell silent. Noiz’s way of portraying a sense of superiority always worked better than the way Aoba did it. There was something about the brat that never failed to draw out the jumpiness and timidity in Aoba, and ironically, Aoba was supposed to be the tutor. 

Trying to figure out a good reasoning, Aoba looked nervously at Noiz when the younger male suddenly grabbed his wrist again. 

“W-What? Noiz!” 

Shocked, Aoba tried to pull his hand away but his strength was nothing compared to Noiz’s. Noiz held Aoba’s hand close to his eyes and a scowl appeared in between his eyebrows. A small patch of red had smeared across Aoba’s white winter glove, the realization halted Aoba’s attempt to break free off Noiz instantly. He must’ve gotten injured when Noiz pulled him up the roof earlier. 

“I…I didn't realize—Noiz?!” 

Pulling the glove off Aoba’s freezing hand, Noiz had immediately pressed his lips on the small scratches as he licked and sucked the blood away until the wounds stopped oozing red out. Aoba merely watched, transfixed, but didn't bring himself to stop him. His heart thumped loudly in his ears as he felt the wet and warm sensation on his skin he knew was Noiz’s tongue. The mystery of the extra piercing he’d felt when Noiz had licked his neck when they’d barely knew each other was solved the moment he saw the metal popping out of his tongue as he continued trailing it along the older man’s hand. It was winter, and he was supposed to feel more chills without his glove to keep his hand warm; but instead, he felt a bizarre pool of warmth inside him and the heat spread across his body and gathered on his face. He yelped in surprise when Noiz gave the back of his hand a brief kiss before putting the glove back on. 

“Get it bandaged later.” 

The simple demand sent trembles all over Aoba as he swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to calm down. He still couldn't figure out what was inside Noiz’s head most of the time, but one thing he was sure about him was that the brat was always unpredictable, and every time he’d portrayed such erratic actions, it never failed to catch Aoba off-guard as his mind turned into a state of mess. Sometimes he seriously wondered if Noiz was genuinely concerned or if he was simply doing things out of his own definition of normalcy. 

Desperately trying to snap out of the air of awkwardness, Aoba quickly forced himself to think of something to say. A change of topic, perhaps. And the first thing that popped into his head was food.

“Oh yeah, your lun—“ 

Before he could finish his sentence, the picture of their lunchboxes lying on the floor with its content scattered out ungracefully invaded his line of vision and he shrugged. 

“Ugh,” letting out a huge sigh, Aoba slumped backwards and grunted. “No lunch today.” 

Noiz, however, took a brief glimpse of their ruined lunch and jumped down before Aoba could suggest something else. He didn't know that Noiz had disappeared from his side until he heard movements below and he sat up to see Noiz picking up their lunchboxes. 

“Noiz, stop! It’s dirty!” 

Noiz was looking at the remains of their lunch when Aoba shouted at him. He waved the lunchboxes at the tutor. “There’re still some left inside.” 

Before Aoba could retort further, Noiz disappeared from his line of vision and reappeared behind him seconds later as he sat down beside him and handed him his lunchbox. 

“Where did you appear from?” Aoba asked, curious. 

“There’s a ladder behind there.” Noiz said simply as he pointed his chin to the corner of the roof. 

Oh. Feeling incredibly stupid, Aoba buried his head in his lunchbox and stuffed the remaining of his lunch into his mouth. If he’d known about the ladder, he wouldn't be landing himself in such an embarrassing situation right now. 

“I’m sorry there’s not enough food today,” Aoba apologized, face still red from the mortification. 

Noiz hummed without replying. The constant temptation to bury himself beneath the thickness of the snow swept the usual chattiness away from Aoba and they ended up munching on their food in silence. 

They finished their food sooner than usual. As if timed beforehand, the school bell rang right after Aoba stuffed the last sea cucumber into his mouth and he stood up, brushing snow off his winter jacket and preparing to leave. He was about to find the ladder Noiz was talking about when Noiz muttered. 

“Thank you.” 

He sounded so quiet, like a whisper. But Aoba heard it, loud and clear. Noiz had just thanked him, something he’d never done before. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Noiz was already lying down, his eyes closed. 

Aoba smiled. He didn't know how he did it but he did. The brat was closer to him now. 

“You are welcome,” he replied and moved down the roof, his face numb from the uncontrolled, spreading smile. 

* * *

 

Aoba had started getting a hang of his job now. At first it was hard to cope, what with getting used to the school environment, plus having to keep an eye on Noiz. But things were progressing in an admirable rate and Aoba had become more attached with the job. Koujaku was supportive as usual, although he was suspicious with Aoba’s disappearance every lunch break. He was still extremely concerned with Noiz’s situation and Aoba had lost count on exactly how many times he’d assured Koujaku that everything was progressing well and that he was confident that Noiz was heading towards a positive change, especially when he’d noticed that Noiz had started becoming more expressive recently. 

Aoba had also started his bi-weekly school inspector duty where he strolled around the school grounds to ensure that everything was in the right place. Initially, Koujaku had suggested for Mink to accompany him, seeing that there would be a possibility for something to happen. But Aoba quickly rejected the idea as he pouted and glared angrily at Koujaku for treating him like a child again. 

Today was yet another day of school-strolling and he hummed casually as he walked around the school compound. He was in a great mood today. Noiz had asked about the injury he’d gotten himself the other day and the simple portrayal of concern warmed Aoba’s heart effortlessly. He was getting closer to Noiz and he knew it. 

The school ground was quiet. Everyone was having classes. It shouldn't be a tough job, until Aoba overheard loud disputations resonating from around a corner. As curiosity got the better of him, Aoba impulsively walked towards the source of noise and immediately felt that perhaps Koujaku’s idea of having Mink to accompany wasn't such a bad idea after all. 

Four burly guys were surrounding a slender….blonde? Wait, he looked familiar. Aoba’s heart thumped loudly but he didn't give himself any time to think as he strode towards the group of students. This was probably the worst decision he’d ever made and he hated himself for allowing his nerves to make the decision for him. He should’ve run off and get someone else, someone who was more suitable than him. But there was no way he could bear seeing _his_ life in danger; he couldn't bear the idea of leaving him out of sight. He needed help. This picture was far worse than the initial picture he’d painted in his head when Koujaku had described a similar situation to him. Far, _far_ worse. 

Acting on impulse, Aoba squeezed himself through the wall of human muscles and stood in front of Noiz, his back facing the stunned blonde. Noiz was not the only one who got shocked, though. The four guys stared at him, wide-eyed, as he swallowed hard. They were so huge. There was no way he could win any of them if a fight ever started between them. 

“Run.” 

The sudden whisper in his ear made him jump. He turned his head slightly to see Noiz’s face beside his, lime-green eyes never left the threats in front of them. But Aoba had no intention to do as he was told. Instead, he straightened his body and cleared his voice. 

“You’re clearly not from this school. I’ll close an eye if you leave now.” 

He couldn't believe he’d just confronted four men who were all twice his size. He felt his own heartbeat thumping hard and fast beneath his rib cage as cold sweat trickled down his cheeks. The four foreign students continued staring at him for another few seconds, then, they burst out laughing. 

Humiliated, Aoba wanted to confront them again but Noiz gripped his wrist and gave him a warning stare. After they’d finally finished laughing, one of the guys stepped up to them and started straight into Aoba’s unwavering eyes. 

“And who are you to tell us off?” His voice was full of taunts. It sounded so loud in Aoba’s ears and he was starting to feel a twinge of pain in his head when the sound waves resonated in his skull. 

“I…” Aoba started by Noiz grasped his wrist firmer, hinting him to stop and let him do the talking. 

“Don’t involve him,” he said, a tone so steady and calm as if he was merely talking to another student of his level. 

“I don’t think you have a say in this, young one,” the guy shot him a filthy, ferocious look, which was responded with Noiz’s own emotionless one. Noiz was really good with hiding emotions. Aoba always thought he only buried them off when he was with him, but apparently, it worked with everyone and every situation as well. 

They stared penetratingly at each other for a full minute before the gigantic guy shifted his gaze back to Aoba, who fidgeted out of reflex as he forced himself to look unnervingly into the guy’s eyes. He was the oldest one here, and he was a tutor. He shouldn't be afraid of them. He shouldn't be. 

“You have some guts meddling with our business, small one. I didn't know that this brat has such a cute boyf—“ He reached out to grab at Aoba’s chin but the action became a trigger when Noiz immediately pulled Aoba back and punched the bully in the face the moment he saw him touching Aoba. 

Erm, what happened to his composure? 

The abrupt action led to an outburst of another powerful trigger. As fast as it’d started, the remaining guys were charging on them the next second. They had nowhere to run. They were being cornered and their backs hit cold brick wall the moment they stepped backwards. They were pretty much doomed. Acknowledging this fate, Aoba intended to pull Noiz away from the attacks but Noiz was faster. He turned around and pushed Aoba’s back against the wall, placed his hands on his shoulders, forced him to squat down, and hovered over him, blocking all the attacks for him. 

Shielded under Noiz’s shadow, Aoba looked up to see Noiz looking at him, a faint smirk obvious on his face as punches and kicks continued raiding his body. There was an indistinct sign of emotion in his eyes which Aoba was unsure of the name, but the younger man was properly showing some emotions, and it pierced Aoba’s heart more than it should. 

“Noiz, stop! Get off!” Aoba screamed. 

Before Noiz could utter anything, a brutal attack hit him destructively on the back, causing him to lose his balance and fell straight on top of Aoba. Panic, Aoba seized his torso and pulled him closer to himself before he shouted angrily at the assailants. 

“Stop! I’m a teacher in this school! If you don’t stop, I’ll report this to your school!” 

That seemed to do the trick. The burly guys froze as they stared dumbfounded at a raging Aoba. 

“Tch, you should’ve said that earlier,” The guy from before shot him a fuming look before he signaled the others to walk away, leaving a bloodied Noiz and a horrified Aoba alone. 

“Noiz! Noiz, are you okay?” Aoba lifted Noiz’s body up cautiously and wiped the blood trickling down from his head off his face. Noiz was conscious but his difficulty to move was evident when he tried to sit up but stumbled back down almost immediately. 

“I’ll call someone!” Aoba cried. He was about to stand up when Noiz grabbed his arm, stopping him. His grip was weak. Aoba squatted back down and asked him things that he could not hear. His hearing ability left him gradually but he fixed his eyes on Aoba, until his vision was suddenly painted with a sea of black and Aoba’s fuzzy, unceasing call of his name became the last thing he heard before he passed out. 

\--

 

When he opened his eyes, the first thing that captured his attention was the jellyfish-shaped lamp hanging on top of the ceiling. He blinked twice. The lamp was still there. Intending to force himself to fall back to sleep and hoping that he could wake up in the real world, he shut his eyes tight, but immediately flashed them open again when he heard someone calling out at him. 

“Noiz-kun, you’re awake!” 

He titled his head sideways. The infirmary doctor, Clear, was smiling broadly at him. He tried to sit up but Clear placed his hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down. 

“Please lie down. You’re not in the best condition to move yet.” 

Curious, Noiz looked down at his own body to find his left arm being wrapped heavily in bandages. Feeling a foreign kind of sensation on his head, he raised his hand to his head and realized that his head was bandaged as well. 

“Thank goodness they weren't too serious or else I would need to send you straight to the hospital!” Clear explained as he checked on Noiz’s bandaged arm again. “No broken bones, only bruises and cuts. I won’t hold you here for long. You just need to stay put and relax for the rest of the day.” 

There were a pool of questions in Noiz’s mind but both his head and his body felt heavy and all he wanted now was to have some rest before he went back to deal with reality again. He was about to close his eyes when he heard rushing footsteps heading towards him and someone hastily pulling the curtains open. 

“Noiz! Thank God!” 

Noiz looked up again to see an anxious, teary-eyed Aoba looking at him. He strode straight to his bedside and carefully caressed his bandages, stopping at the spot where dried blood was hidden beneath and gave out a small gasp. 

“Does it still hurt?” Aoba asked with a small voice, as if afraid that his voice may potentially create more wounds on Noiz. 

“Don’t worry, Seragaki-sensei. Those are just cuts, they’ll heal in no time!” Clear clarified before Noiz could say so for himself. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Aoba beamed feebly at Noiz. 

“Thank God…” 

Noiz appreciated the concern and unobtrusive atmosphere and he closed his eyes again, finally getting some rest. He sank his head deeper into the pillow but the craved tranquility was destroyed when someone slammed the infirmary door open with such force that made Noiz feel as if his whole world was shaking. His head was still numb and heavy and the force that broke directly into his skull sent a twinge of pain into his nerves. 

His frown deepened when he saw Koujaku hurried into the room. Pushing Aoba away, he stood right beside Noiz and he stared at him, clearly not amused. Returning his gaze with an uninterested stare, Noiz expression returned to an impassive one when Koujaku scanned his body and clicked his tongue. 

“What the hell did you get yourself into this time?!’ 

“Shhh, lower your voice, Koujaku-sensei,” Clear scolded, finger pressing on his own lips. “And what’s with that language? You’re supposed to be a teacher!” 

“Like hell I care!” Koujaku erupted irritably as he shot Noiz with a furious glare, demanding for answers. 

“It’s none of your business,” Noiz retorted with a hoarse voice. He didn't know how dried his throat was until he spoke. The simple sentence was muttered in a small voice but Koujaku obviously caught every word as he grabbed the brat’s collar and shouted into his face. 

“You’re gonna get thrown out of school if you keep getting involved in troubles like this! Do you not care?!” 

His voice was so loud Noiz could literally feel his eardrums vibrate. Both Aoba and Clear were trying to pull Koujaku back but to no avail. Koujaku was a strong guy, and his anger had given rise to more strength in which not even the strength of both Aoba’s and Clear’s combined could top his. Annoyed, Noiz seized Koujaku’s hand on his collar with firm strength and forcefully pushed it away. He didn't say anything to him after that. Slumping back on his bed, he tilted his head away, refusing to look at Koujaku any longer. 

Koujaku was obviously not pleased with the response but he didn't press it further. He locked his gaze on the third-year with a complicated expression and once he’d calmed down, he gave out a deep sigh and ruffled Noiz’s hair. 

“You shitty brat.” 

Noiz didn't push him away, nor did he respond further to Koujaku’s touch. He merely stared out of the window, ignoring the older man. 

“How are the injuries?” Koujaku’s voice had softened down now that he’d finally calmed down and Clear brought him through Noiz’s condition. After making sure that Noiz wasn't in a state that would endanger his life, Koujaku smiled delicately, ruffled his hair again, and walked out of the room after he muttered a soft “make sure to take care of yourself” at him. Noiz didn't respond to him the entire time. He kept preventing eye contact with him but when he heard the door close, he turned around and stared at the spot where Koujaku had disappeared, and that was when Aoba realized that the Noiz he witnessed now was a different person from the Noiz he knew. This Noiz portrayed a different kind of emotion and a different kind of persona when he was faced with Koujaku. And then it occurred to Aoba that there must be something he didn't know between the both of them, and that the third-year must be attached to Koujaku in a way which Aoba had yet to understand. 

That realization made his heart ache. 

\--

 

Tapping his foot impatiently, Aoba leaned against the school gate and glanced incessantly around. He’d never waited for Noiz here before. Perhaps Noiz had an alternative route to lead him out of the school grounds. Gambling precariously at the sole impression that he would use the common route – he did saw him using this path on the first day of work – Aoba continued looking around for that glimpse of blonde and nearly yelled out loud when he spotted it in the midst of the student waves. 

“Noiz! Wait!” 

Noiz stopped his track and turned around to see Aoba running eagerly towards him. His bandages were still on but he seemed more than fine now. 

“Are you going home now?” Aoba asked between pants. 

Noiz stared at him questioningly before giving him a small nod. 

“Can I stop by?” Aoba suggested, immediately earning a wide-eyed expression from Noiz. But the shock on the blonde’s face changed into a mischievous profile within seconds. 

“Heh, so you want to take things further, huh?” 

“W-What? No! It’s not what you think it is!” Aoba clarified anxiously.  “I’ve got a saline solution from Clear and he reminded me to take care of your wounds because he knows that you’re too reckless to take care of them yourself. And I agree with him.” 

When Noiz looked at him suspiciously, Aoba continued ragingly. 

“You need to clean your wounds tonight and I bet you don’t even know how to do it.” 

“So you’re going to do it for me? Why?” 

“I-I’m your teacher.” 

Noiz gave out a small grin. 

“That again? We’re no longer teacher and student once we step out of this gate.” 

Aoba gaped, not knowing how to answer as he watched Noiz walking off. He stood frozen on the same spot until Noiz looked back at his shoulder and asked. 

“Are you coming?” 

“Y-yeah!” 

He didn't know what prompted him to conduct such blunt action. He might’ve crossed the line. But there was one thing he knew for certain – he needed to call his grandma to tell her that he would be late today.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter got bigger than I expected it to so I decided to split the initial one chapter into two.


	4. Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba and Noiz took their relationship to the next level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the biggest chapter of the fic. Writing OTP is not a task that should be taken lightly -shot-
> 
> Annnnnnnd, the rating changed ;)

Noiz threw his bag inelegantly on the floor once he stepped into his house. Sometimes Aoba wondered what he kept inside his bag. He didn’t attend classes, he didn't even bring his own food. He could've just attended school empty-handed. When Noiz took off his shoe and put it onto the shoe rack, Aoba followed. As he walked along the long corridor leading into the building’s main rooms, he couldn't help but gawked at the extravagance he’d lead himself into. Noiz resided in the upper-class district of the island, only five minutes away from Midorijima Private High School. Needless to say, his house – no, mansion – was almost five times more massive than Aoba’s house. He thought he’d gotten used to the flabbergasted surrounding he’d involved himself into half a year ago. He thought he’d gotten used to adjusting his mindset to adapt with this new lavish lifestyle, but apparently, he needed more time than he’d expected. Now he knew why the brat said people usually approached him for money. 

He followed Noiz cautiously into the house, unconsciously tidying up his shirt as he moved deeper. He was expecting a greeting of some sort, but as the minutes tickled by, he realized that they were the only ones in the house and the only sounds audible in the humongous space were their own footsteps. 

“Where’s everyone else?” Aoba asked, struggling to catch up with Noiz’s rapid pace. 

“Who are you talking about?” 

“I mean, you don’t live alone, right?’ 

“I do.” 

Aoba stared, open-mouthed, as Noiz strolled casually to a couch in the living room and collapsed on it. When he saw Aoba still standing awkwardly at the doorway, he pointed at another couch and said nonchalantly. 

“Sit down.” 

“But the house is so big!” Aoba continued, still refusing to drop the subject. 

“And your point is?” 

Aoba gulped. “You’re serious about living in such a huge house all by yourself?” 

“Is there a problem?” A scowl formed on Noiz’s face as he stared petulantly at Aoba. 

Aoba sighed and sat beside Noiz, who loosened his tie, took two green cubes out of his pockets, and threw them on the coffee table. The last time Aoba had seen the cube was when it attempted to steal his food. The green cubes rolled around animatedly, sometimes colliding against each other and making high-pitched beeping sounds sporadically. 

“You made those?” Aoba asked as he watched one of the cubes tumbling down the other. 

“Hm,” Noiz replied quietly. 

“How?” The cubes floated in mid-air and circled their heads. 

“It wasn't hard.” 

“’Wasn't hard?’” Aoba gaped. “You need to be at least on a university standard to be able to make something like that! I’m not even sure if I know how to make one.” 

Noiz ignored him. Instead, he grabbed the phone from the coffee table and started dialing. 

“Who’re you calling?” Aoba asked again, his attention diverted from the playful green cubes now stacking on each other. 

“Food.” 

“What?” 

Noiz glimpsed at Aoba sideways before he pressed the phone to his ear. “Din—Hello? The usual toppings, two, no, three pizzas and three pas—“ 

 _The usual_. 

Aoba snatched the phone out of his hand and bellowed into it. “Cancel that, please. Thank you.” 

“What are you doing?” Clearly dissatisfied with the loss of his dinner, Noiz frowned at Aoba, demanding for an explanation.

“Don’t tell me you eat those every day.” 

“…Is there a problem?” 

“Noiz!” 

Raged, Aoba stood up and smacked Noiz on the head, causing the younger one to glare irately back at him. Noiz was more remote than he’d thought. It was already bad enough for him to reside in such a huge place without the proper care and concern of anyone. Now that Aoba knew that he’d lived an unhealthy life for – probably – the past two years, he became even more furious with the brat for putting both his health _and_ his life at stake. Noiz obviously could not understand why he was so mad with a seemingly common thing like this. As he gave Aoba The Stare, Aoba knew that he was studying him hard again. Folding his arm, he stood tall in front of Noiz and asked. 

“I’ll cook today. What do you want to eat?” 

An instant smirk appeared on Noiz’s face and he leaned back, adoring the view of the older man towering above him. 

“Aren’t you a bad cook?” he mocked. 

“Still better than eating the same thing every day. Since I’m a guest, might as well do you a favor.” 

“Isn't that supposed to be the other way round?” 

Realizing he was turning into a bunch of contradiction, Aoba anxiously corrected. 

“Doesn’t matter. Do you want to eat or not?” 

Noiz grinned provocatively and let out a small hum. 

“The thing you gave me last time.” 

“Huh?” 

“…Takoyaki.” 

He remembered. 

Trying very hard to maintain a straight face, Aoba strode straight to the kitchen (which was five times bigger than his) and opened the fridge. It was empty except for a box of frozen octopus dumplings that was obviously bought from a convenience store. He took the container out and waved it at Noiz, who had followed him into the kitchen. Sometimes he really wondered if Noiz had everything all planned out and he was the one who kept falling into his ploy. 

“You already had everything planned out, huh?” 

Noiz averted his gaze and walked over to switch the oven on. It wasn't his usual behavior to miss the chance to tease Aoba and the change of behavior piqued Aoba’s curiosity greatly. He opened the container, intending to unfrozen the content just to find a piece of note attached at the back of the cover with a website address scribbled on it. There was no name for the website but the URL had told Aoba enough for him to figure out what the site was all about. 

 _Easy-takoyaki-recipes_. 

Chuckling sneakily, Aoba pocketed the note just before Noiz turned around and demanded him to pass him the container. Pushing his hand away, Aoba informed him that they would need to wait for the food to be unfrozen first before they could put them in the oven. Noiz shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. When Aoba peeked on him later, he was already slumping on the couch again with his laptop opened, typing speedily on the keyboard. 

\--

 

“So your idea of cooking for me is to heat up my food.” 

Gracefully sipping on his soda can, Noiz shot Aoba a teasing look, his smirk evident beneath the can. Aoba pouted slightly and gulped down a mouthful of his own soda, refusing to respond. 

“I’m starting to believe that you’re _really_ a bad cook,” Noiz continued as he put the soda can back on the coffee table and continued dancing his fingers on the keyboard. 

“Shut up, brat,” Aoba wanted to whack the brat on the head for being disrespectful but he was distracted by the stuff he was working on his laptop. The screen was filled with complicated words and methodical-looking pie charts and it looked strangely like a professional thesis. Aoba couldn't figure out what that was that all about but he knew one thing for sure – this was definitely not a work that a normal high-school student could easily pull off. 

“What’s that?” he asked reflexively, eyes fixed on the screen and still trying to figure out the complications behind a paragraph Noiz had just finished typing. 

Realizing that Aoba was peering at what he was doing, Noiz hastily slammed the laptop screen shut and put it away before he turned back to an astonished Aoba. 

“It was nothing,” he answered briefly, stood up, and walked away. 

Aoba followed his outline out of the living room as countless questions flooded his mind. He knew Noiz was intelligent – it wasn't too hard to notice that – but he’d never guessed that he was _that_ smart. The document looked like a high-proficiency report and the possibility of Noiz working on something else that he had absolutely no idea of riled his curiosity further. 

He really knew _nothing_ about the brat. 

Noiz returned few minutes later with a first-aid kit in his hand. Sitting down, he pushed the box to Aoba and started to take off the bandage on his left arm. Instantly reminded of the main reason he was here, Aoba opened the first-aid kit and hastily picked out the items he needed to use. 

“Urgh, it looks painful,” Aoba grunted the moment he saw the bandage fell off. The horrible-looking scar on Noiz’s skin sent a pang of guilt into his chest as he carefully cleaned the dried blood off with a cotton pad soaked with warm water. 

“I’m sorry,” Aoba muttered. 

“What’s that for?” 

“You got injured because of me,” he continued quietly. “You didn't need to protect me.” 

Noiz took a while to response, but when he did, it made Aoba stop breathing for a few seconds. 

“I wanted to.” 

Aoba stunned for a brief moment before he clumsily returned to tending Noiz’s wound without another word. The blood pooled on his cheek and his whole mind turned mushy. How could the brat blurt out something so blunt in such a casual way? Noiz just turned into a human being beyond Aoba’s comprehension, confusing Aoba even more. Did he say that out of impulse? Or it was yet another one of those things he’d consider as being “normal”?

The next few minutes were spent in silence, saved for the constant colliding between the green cubes above their heads. Mindlessly cleaning Noiz’s wounds, Aoba used his very limited knowledge of bandaging to wrap his arm with a new, clean piece of bandage. The scar on Noiz’s head had already stopped bleeding and it wasn't too severe so Aoba merely pasted a plaster on it and gave it a light tap before he started cleaning up the place. Noiz sat still the entire time, his gaze never missed every single one of Aoba’s actions - his gesture, his awkward facial expression and his palpable attempt to avoid eye contact with him. He’d interacted enough with Aoba to know when Aoba sunk into a state of confusion and uncertainty. It was not the first time he’d seen Aoba purposefully ignoring him when he didn't know how to respond to a certain situation. He knew Aoba wasn't trying to escape from the it. He was just thinking too hard on things that he wasn't supposed to think about. He could’ve just asked Noiz and all his doubts would be cleared but the nineteen-year-old knew that he was too contradicted to do so, what with having his own dignity to uphold and having to remain composed at the same time. 

Although so, he had to admit that he found that trait of his kind of cute. 

“Okay, I guess that’s about it,” Aoba announced as he pushed the first-aid kit aside. “I think they’ll heal soon enough, as long as you keep yourself away from troubles.” 

Noiz gently touched the newly wrapped bandage and experimentally flicked a finger on it. It didn't hurt anymore. He was about to thank Aoba for helping him with his wound treatment but the next thing Aoba said made him swallow back the words he intended to say. 

“Please don’t get into troubles again. Koujaku was right. You’ll get expelled if you continue doing absurd things like that. You’re lucky they didn't penalize you on your class attendance.” 

Noiz frowned. Looking away, he responded with an impatient tone. Aoba hit it again. Whenever he mentioned Koujaku, this was always the response he’d received from Noiz. 

“That was supposed to be the last time. I only wanted to settle things with them once and for all,” he paused for a while before he shot a sideway stare at Aoba. “I didn’t expect you to turn up and make things worse.” 

“Wh…” Aoba gasped. He? Made things worse? 

“I was worried about you! How do you expect me to turn a blind eye towards that kind of situation?! They could beat you up! You may end up with broken bones! You may die!” 

Noiz shrugged and gave out a mocking hum.  

“Then so be it.” 

“What?” 

“I say,” he turned and looked straight into Aoba’s eyes. “If I die, then so be it. No one will care, anyway.” 

That spontaneous sentence seemed to trigger every nerve in Aoba as he stood up wrathfully, smacked Noiz in the head, grabbed his collar, and pushed him aggressively against the soft material of the couch.

“I’ll care, you idiot! Stop taking your life so lightly! If you die, I’ll cry! I’ll hate you for the rest of your life for not taking care of yourself and I’ll hate myself forever for not taking care of _you_ especially when I _know_ you need help!” 

Noiz stared startlingly at him for a full minute before be broke into a tender smile and reached out to stroke Aoba’s cheekbone, his eyes filled with soft emotions that Aoba had never seen before. 

“That sounds awfully familiar.” 

“Huh?” 

The dissimilar and unexpected response from Noiz calmed Aoba down as he loosened the grip on his collar and slowly released him. He stared dumbly back at him for another minute before he crashed heavily beside him, burying his face in his palms. 

“…I’m sorry.” 

“You've been saying that for the whole day already.” 

Aoba didn't respond. He didn't know what and how to respond. He felt terribly irritated at himself for losing his composure. He didn't even understand why he got so fired up over an immature statement by an overgrown brat. He felt extremely immature, perhaps even more immature than the brat himself, and he hated himself for that. He failed badly as a tutor. He was allowing his emotions to override his rationale. 

“Why do you care?” 

It was that question again. A question he was all too familiar with. Noiz had asked him that exact same question when they’d barely knew each other. Aoba didn't have the answer for him then. But now, he had it. 

“I just want you to be happy.” 

As Noiz shot him a complicated look, Aoba quickly corrected, realizing that the statement sounded too vague. 

“I mean, I want you to be a useful person. I know you’re smart and I want you to make use of that intelligence,” looking up from his hands, he continued slowly. “I want you to learn how to treat yourself properly, to know how important living is, how important _you_ are, and on top of all, to learn how to be truly happy with yourself and your own life.” 

Giving out a huge sigh as a sign of the end of his speech, Aoba leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. The words he’d said to Noiz echoed unceasingly in his head and he knew that he’d said things out of impulse again. But this time, he didn't regret any of it. Instead, he felt greatly satisfied and relieved for finally being able to confront his own feelings towards Noiz. The only problem that remained now was Noiz’s apprehension of the matter. As if looking for an answer, he opened one of his eyes and peeked at Noiz, just to see the blonde staring penetratingly at him with a tender expression on his face. 

“…What?" he asked, trembles obvious in his voice. 

Noiz seemed to take forever to answer him. But when he did, it made Aoba jump again. 

“Did you say that because someone else wanted you to say it?” 

“W-What? No! Of course not! What’re you talking about?!” 

Noiz continued staring at Aoba before he asked with a tone so cautious it made Aoba shiver. 

“Are you a replacement for Koujaku?” 

….Huh? 

What is he talking about? 

“I…I don’t understand.” 

Then, Noiz’s eyes brightened. 

“So you don’t know anything about it?” 

…Huh? 

“About what?” 

Noiz hummed and looked away from him. 

“Nothing.” 

“Hey! Don’t leave me hanging like this!” Aoba exclaimed. He was right. The suspicion that there was something between Noiz and Koujaku in which Aoba had yet to understand hit him so hard in the face it was almost impossible to ignore. 

He needed to know what happened. And why did Koujaku leave this piece of information out when it was obviously something very important? 

When Noiz refused to respond further, Aoba pouted and stared angrily at him. There were a few possibilities in his head now but he was trying very hard to brush that _one_ possibility off. Noiz had acted very edgily towards anything that was related to Koujaku, and the only reason that could probe such action was perhaps…maybe… 

 _He was in love with Koujaku_.

If that was true, what happened between them? How did it happen? Why did it happen? Millions of whys and how’s flooded Aoba’s mind cruelly but he knew that no matter how hard he crushed his brain, he would never get the answer, especially not from the distant brat in front of him.

As if trying to rescue him from becoming too indulged with his negative thoughts, Noiz moved closer to Aoba and placed his hand on top of the older man’s. Aoba jumped upon feeling the new sense of warmth on his skin as he turned around to face Noiz. 

“Can I ask you something?” Noiz asked, his voice so soft Aoba had to strain his ears to listen properly. 

“W-What…?” 

“Are you in love with me?” 

The loud thumping of his heartbeat became the only thing he could hear, and the only thing he could feel now was Noiz’s hot breath beside his ear. Frankly, this was not the first time he was confronted with this question. Ever since he found himself becoming eccentrically attached to the brat, the question had been haunting him in on an on and off basis for the past few months. But he’d brush it off every time because he knew that if he was to submit to his nerves, he would be crossing the line. He thought he was doing well. He was composed enough around the brat. He maintained his position well. He’d lost count on exactly how many times he’d tried to reassure himself that his unusually high commitment towards the brat was solely conducted out of his own sense of responsibility. But when Noiz became so upfront and confronted him in such a sincere manner, he realized that… 

He couldn't lie to himself any longer. 

He’d never known how this whole love thing worked. He had no experience with romantic relationships. But at least he knew it when a person became so important in his life he couldn't afford the idea of losing him. 

As he got carried away with his angel versus devil debate in his head, Noiz had moved in front of him, both his hands now gently cupping Aoba’s face and forcing him to look him in the eyes. 

“Aoba, are you in love with me?” 

Aoba’s breath hitched with the direct address of his name. This was the first time Noiz had addressed him as such and it swelled Aoba’s heart. The emotions inside him were starting to become too overwhelming for him to contain and he buried his face in his hands again, attempting to calm himself down. 

Noiz gave him a few moments and when Aoba finally looked up again, he saw a whole new resolve in his eyes which was not present a few minutes ago. 

“…Yes.” 

The voice that had blurted out that one simple word was as firmed as the determination in his eyes. This time, it was Noiz’s turn to gape at him as Aoba looked confidently and strongly into his eyes. He’d never expected the tutor to give him such an honest answer. He’d suspected that Aoba was attached to him more than he should. But he’d never expected him to face his feelings in such an upfront way. He thought he’d try to escape from it again, telling him that it wasn't appropriate, and then left his life. 

Because that was how it worked last time. 

“Are you sure?” Noiz asked again, his own heartbeat beating furiously against his chest. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

Noiz stared at him again. He was waiting, waiting for the moment when Aoba would go “No, actually I wasn't sure about it myself”; but when it never came, he knew he’d landed himself in a serious yet complicated situation. 

His only response was a stern “I don’t believe you”. He felt strangely surreal. Aoba was usually the one who would attempt to escape from a situation like this; but now, _he_ became the one turning away from the possibility. 

Why? Was he still afraid of how this would turn out? 

“What do I need to do to make you believe me?” Aoba asked, the confidence still evident in his tone. 

Sensing a chance, Noiz smirked. 

“I’ll believe you if you agree to have sex with me.” 

As expected, Aoba stood up furiously, grabbed the nearest cushion, and hit the brat’s head hard. Ah, yes, this was indeed a bit too much for him. Noiz was right after all. Aoba wasn't entirely sure of how he felt. This trigger would make him realize that. He would take back what he’d said. He would… 

“How can you treat sex so lightly?!” 

…take ba…? 

“W-Wh—“ 

“Do you seriously think that sex is the answer to _everything_? So what if I have sex with you? Is that enough for you to trust me? Is that how you see me? Then I rather you _not_ believe me!” Aoba raged. Picking up his bag, he stormed out of the house before Noiz could stop him.

The house returned to its usual silence. Noiz leaned back against the couch, feeling exhausted with the unfamiliar stir in him. He was doing so well at pushing people away from his life. He was doing so well with living all by himself. 

But why did he feel so lonely now? 

\--

 

Aoba stopped his furious footsteps after he was at a good distance away from Noiz’s mansion. He would need to walk for at least another half an hour to reach his own house. This was bad news. The sky was darkening and he was surrounded by nothing but darkness and stillness. He’d taken a huge step and he’d ruined the situation again. He knew that if he left the situation as it was things would progress towards a more undesirable way. It wouldn't be the same anymore. Sighing heavily, he turned around and walked back to the mansion.

\--

 

When it took too long for Noiz to open the door, he almost thought that Noiz had turned in early. He was about to press the doorbell again when he heard a click and the door swung opened, revealing a wet-haired Noiz with only a towel over his waist. 

“Y-You..” 

“You came back.”

Purposely ignoring Aoba’s overreaction, Noiz stepped back, beckoning him to go in. 

Aoba walked warily into the house again. It seemed that Noiz had gone for a shower to cool his mind down when Aoba stormed off. 

Aoba stood nervously in the living room as Noiz walked in, water droplets dripping down from the tips of his wet hair and leaving small trails on the mosaic floor. 

“So, are you here for sex or money?” Noiz deadpanned, as if what happened minutes ago were Aoba’s mere delusions. 

“Shut up about that, brat! I’m here for you!” Aoba scolded angrily before his tone softened. “And… I want to ask if you’re serious about the sex thing.” 

Noiz looked at him, confused with a tiny hint of shock, and Aoba knew he’d screwed up again. When would he ever get better with expressing himself? When he was anxiously trying to find a better way to word his question, Noiz gave him a mischievous smirk. 

“So you want to have sex with me.” 

“W-Wait! Not that! I was trying to ask if you really think that sex is the answer to everything.” 

He did it. 

Noiz hummed lightly, seemingly avoiding his question but Aoba knew that he was thinking hard. Then, Noiz shook his head lightly. 

“I don’t invite sex myself, if that answers your question.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“What I meant was,” Noiz stepped up and swirled his fingers around the tips of Aoba’s hair. “If I ask for sex, it means I’m serious about it.” 

His face came so dangerously close to Aoba’s that Aoba could feel the hot air on his own skin. Gulping, he continued asking. 

“But you said people approach you for sex….” 

“They do. But that was _their_ request, not mine.” 

Aoba was still slightly confused. Noticing that, Noiz moved his hand and wrapped it around Aoba’s neck, feeling the smaller man trembled slightly from his touch, before he continued. 

“When I ask for sex, it means I want _you_. Do I make myself clear enough?” 

When Aoba continued gaping at Noiz without answering, Noiz clicked his tongue, grabbed Aoba by the back of his neck, pulled him towards him, and pressed a firm kiss on his lips, separating them a few seconds later after giving his bottom lip a swift lick. 

“Am I clear enough now?” he asked again, his voice obviously softened as Aoba nodded lightly and buried himself into Noiz’s embrace, feeling the cold sensation of his skin against his flustered face.

 

Noiz led him into his bedroom shortly after. Sitting awkwardly on the corner of his king-sized bed, Aoba fidgeted uneasily as he waited for Noiz to return from the bathroom. When he came back, Aoba saw a bottle of lube in his hand and fidgeted out of reflex again. 

After placing the lube on the bedside table, Noiz crawled towards Aoba, hugging him from behind. Aoba trembled slightly in his embrace. He’d never had such a close contact with anyone else before. He was unsure of what he should do. Should he hug him back? Or should he wait? 

“Relax,” Noiz whispered hotly beside his ear, causing Aoba’s to jump reflexively as a strange twinge of electric shock ran through his nerves. 

The nineteen-year-old then proceeded to turn him around slowly so that he was now facing him. The lights were off but the moonlight pouring in from the window gave Aoba a fuzzy view of Noiz’s outline, whose face was merely inches apart from his. Noiz was extremely charming and good-looking. He’d always thought so ever since he first met him. Acting out of impulse, he raised his hand to Noiz’s face when he stopped, hesitance washing over him again. 

“What is it?” Noiz asked, his voice still small. 

“C-Can I…touch your piercings?” Aoba asked with a tone as small as Noiz’s but with extra timidity. 

Noiz gave him a small grin and nodded. Swallowing, Aoba reached out to the his face again, slowly tracing every one of his piercings on his face – the one on his eyebrow, the one on the bridge of his nose, and all the way down to the one under his lip. 

“You have a tongue piercing too, right?” 

“You mean this?” Noiz darted his tongue out, his piercing glistening under the weak moonlight. 

“Can I feel it too?” 

“Of course.” 

With Noiz’s consent, Aoba reached his forefinger out to touch on the piercing but before he could feel the metal sensation he was expecting to feel, Noiz suddenly grabbed his wrist and smiled teasingly at him. 

“There’s another way to feel it better.” 

That was the last thing Aoba heard before Noiz pulled him towards him and thrust his tongue into Aoba’s slightly opened mouth, earning an instant soft moan from the blue-haired man as he wrapped his hands around Noiz’s neck to stop himself from tumbling over. As Noiz’s tongue moved skillfully in Aoba’s mouth, licking and tasting every corner of his mouth with constant clanking sounds resulting from the touch of his piercing on his teeth, the younger man proceeded to wrap his arms around Aoba’s torso, pulling him closer and hugging him so hard it became hard to breathe. 

They only broke their kiss when Noiz took Aoba’s shirt off, revealing his fair skin underneath it, and dove his tongue into Aoba’s mouth again, barely giving each other time to breathe. When they finally separated their lips, Noiz gently pushed Aoba down, making him to lie on his back, and towered over him. Looking up, Aoba yelped softly when he realized how big Noiz’s build was now that he was on top of him. He thought that their body sizes weren't that much different; but as Noiz hovered nearer over him, shirtless and spotless, he realized that the brat had been hiding his fit build from him all these while. 

“As an adult, you sure have a small fit,” Noiz teased. 

Humiliated, Aoba flicked a finger in between the brat’s eyes. 

“Shut up, brat.” 

“Do you have any experience in this?” Noiz asked, fingers gently brushing Aoba’s hair after he massaged the now-reddish spot where Aoba had attacked him. 

“No…I’ve never been in a relationship before, let alone having sex,” Aoba responded. “How about you?” 

Noiz moved his hand and proceeded to caress Aoba’s cheek instead. “I do have the experience. But,” cupping Aoba’s face and planting a soft kiss on his left eye, he continued. “I was on the receiving end, so you can say that this is technically my first time too.” 

After they’d exchanged a brief moment of tender, small smiles, Noiz kissed Aoba’s eye again, then he pressed another small kiss on his lips and moved downwards, planting open-mouthed kisses all over his neck, his collarbone, and trailing his tongue across Aoba’s torso. Aoba was smooth and soft under his tongue and he seemed to be taking his time tasting every inch of his skin as Aoba trembled slightly under his touch. At first, Aoba felt a slight ticklish sensation which he tried to endure. But when Noiz proceeded to tease his nipples between his thumb and forefinger, the ticklish sensation was gradually replaced by a sense of slow-building pleasure that spread throughout his body and gathered below, causing Aoba to moan involuntarily as he felt his dick twitch. Noiz was extremely gentle with him and he knew the brat was trying his best not to hurt him. 

When he reached his stomach, Noiz looked up and gave him a small grin before he proceeded to pull both his pants and boxer off, revealing his half-erected dick. 

“Don’t stare,” Aoba pouted, a faint tint of red visible on his cheeks as he lifted his body up, enough to see what Noiz was doing. 

Noiz merely hummed. Upon feeling the hot breath on the head of his cock, Aoba shivered reflexively, feeling the goosebumps forming on his skin when Noiz trailed his finger along the length of his shaft. After a few ghost-like scratches, Noiz grabbed his cock with moderate strength and gave it a few experimental pumps, instantly causing Aoba to moan softly as he slowly sank into the wave of pleasure washing over him gradually. Feeling himself at the verge of losing control over his voice as Noiz’s pumps became faster, Aoba covered his mouth with his hands, attempting to block the embarrassment away when Noiz stopped. 

“Don’t hide your voice.” 

Aoba gave him a retorting look and Noiz smiled, causing Aoba to feel greatly subjugated. Noiz continued moving then, his pumps still unhurried and steady as he locked his eyes on Aoba, unwilling to miss every detail he could capture – the rise and fall of his chest, his flustered, bright red cheeks, the soft moans hidden beneath his hands, the tears at the corner of his eyes, the sweat trickling down his cheeks, and his dick, which was now harder as precome dripped out of the slit, forming a thin line between his stomach and the head of his cock. Satisfied with the reactions, Noiz leaned down and, without warning, took the whole of Aoba’s dick into his mouth and sucked on it. 

Reaching his endurance limit, the sudden rush of pleasure forced Aoba to remove his hands from his mouth as loud moans escaped his lips while he gripped on the mattress, trying to suppress the mind-blinding wave of pleasure. Noiz’s pumps were good, but it was a whole new level when his hands were replaced by the warm and wet sensations of his mouth. Not only that he knew the right place to lick, the fact that he kept pressing his tongue piercing in between his slit made Aoba shiver uncontrollably. He’d never experienced such ecstasy before and it was starting to become a bit too much for him to handle. 

Breathing heavily, he allowed his mind to be clouded with pleasure and all he could hear was the erotic slurping sound of Noiz sucking his dick and his own loud moans echoing in the room. The embarrassment he’d felt earlier melted away with his mind. His dick hardening with every passing second and he was almost at the verge of climaxing when Noiz released him. 

“Good?” Noiz asked, wiping the saliva off the corner of his lip with the back of his hand as he looked up at Aoba. 

“….don’t ask,” Aoba answered vaguely between pants, but that was enough for Noiz to smirk teasingly at him and go back to work. He licked his shaft again, from the tip, along the length, and to the base of his dick, giving his balls a few rough sucks before he trailed his tongue down his tail bone, approaching his hole. 

“W-Wait, Noiz!” 

Realizing what Noiz wanted to do, Aoba immediately sat up, intending to stop him but he was two seconds too late. When he felt Noiz pressing his tongue piercing lightly into his hole, he found himself moaning out loud again. 

This was going too far. He’d never done this to himself before and having someone else doing this to him made him feel incredibly disconcerting. Feeling the uncontrollable flinches and uneven heavy breathing of the older man, Noiz wet his lips and continued swiping his tongue against Aoba’s hole as he licked up to his tail bone again. He’d thought that he was a bit too fair and skinny for his own good, but he’d never expected him to feel so good under his tongue. 

It was a great discovery, and also a great arousal for him. 

When Aoba gave out another loud moan, he stopped, looking up to see the small man closing his eyes and desperately trying to catch his own breathe. 

“Are you okay?” 

Aoba waited until his breathing was finally under control before he answered with a quiet “…I’m fine” at Noiz. 

“Pass the lube,” Noiz requested, pointing his chin at the bedside table. 

Aoba obeyed quietly as he reached out, grabbed the small bottle and passed it to Noiz, who popped the bottle open and pour a decent amount of the liquid onto his palm. When he started coating two of his fingers, Aoba gulped as he stared fixated. He should’ve expected this moment to come but it was still hard to ignore the nervousness in him. When Noiz’s fingers pressed against his hole, he closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the invasion. But as seconds trickled by and nothing happened, he opened his eyes again to see Noiz looking worriedly at him. 

“Relax,” Noiz whispered softly, worries obvious in his tone. 

When Aoba gave him a nervous nod, Noiz leaned forward and used his clean hand to swipe the bangs off his forehead, planting a firm kiss on it. 

“Do you trust me, Aoba?” There were worries in his voice, but it wasn't hard to miss the hint of want in it. Those were emotions Noiz had never shown Aoba before and somehow, the tone he used when he spoke to him and the sincere, genuine emotions hidden beneath his eyes when he looked at him acted as an effective remedy for Aoba’s anxiety. Slowly, he nodded his head. 

Relieved with the response, Noiz straightened up again and positioned his finger against Aoba’s hole. He entered it unhurriedly, carefully, so slow that Aoba could literally feel it pressing his inside walls open. It was a weird feeling and the cold sensation of the lube wasn't helping in easing the oddness he felt. He held his breath when he felt Noiz easing deeper into him. His heart beating so hard it hurt. When the movement stopped, he knew his whole finger was already inside and he opened his eyes to see Noiz’s assuring smile as he glanced concernedly at him. When Aoba gave him another nod, he pushed another finger in alongside the one already inside. Feeling his inside stretched, Aoba gave out a choked moan and gripped on the mattress again, trying to endure the slight twinge of pain now spreading through his lower body. It was worse than he’d imagined it to be. But he did it. When Noiz stopped again, he exhaled jaggedly, feeling the mattress sticking on his back. 

There was barely any time for him to rest when Noiz started moving his fingers. He started off very cautiously, experimentally curving his fingers inside and spreading them further. It took a while for Aoba to get use of the foreign sensation and when he felt the initial pain slowly dissolving into pleasure, he knew that he was ready for what was coming. When Noiz finally removed his own fingers, he leaned down and planted sporadic nibs on Aoba’s inner thighs before he pressed his own painfully erected member against his hole. As if trying to calm Aoba down, Noiz leaned forward again, pressing a soft kiss on Aoba’s lips, and slowly pushed into him without separating their kiss. 

At first, the pain still remained. Aoba shut his eyes as he felt the head of Noiz’s dick pushing pass his hole and into the stretched inner walls. Sucking in a huge lung of air, Noiz swallowed, feeling his rationale slowly melting away with the heat wrapping his dick. Aoba had proceeded to grab on his wrists, and as he was finally fully seated in him, both of them gave out a huge breath, struggling to keep the air in their lungs. 

“Noiz…?” Aoba called out weakly. 

“What is it?” 

“There’s something weird.” 

“Hmm? Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Noiz asked, wiping the sweat off Aoba’s cheek and gently rubbing his thumb against his cheekbone. 

“I’m not sure if I should feel this way but I feel tiny beads poking my insides,” Aoba explained. But honestly, he wasn’t sure of exactly how he should explain it to Noiz. All he could feel was a different, foreign kind of sensation inside him that wasn't supposed to be part of a dick of a normal guy. 

“Oh,” Noiz seemed to understand what Aoba was trying to convey. “I think you're feeling my dick piercings.” 

“What?!” Aoba yelled out loud. “You have piercings _down there_ too?!” 

“You didn't know?” 

“How am I supposed to know when you never tell me anything about it?” Aoba cried, feeling more flustered with every passing second. There were _metals_ inside him. 

“I thought you would've guessed,” Noiz continued nonchalantly but his voice dropped the next second as he smirked mischievously at Aoba. “You don’t like it?” 

“Urgh, that’s nothing to do with that!” 

“Perhaps I should wear a condom next time. Right, _sensei_?” Noiz suggested, his voice still filled with teases. 

Aoba was about to retort but his words were instantly replaced by loud moans when Noiz pulled his whole length out and thrust deep into Aoba, again, and again. The sound of their ragged breathes accompanied by the skin on skin noises soon filled the silence of the room as Noiz moved deeper and faster in Aoba. He would let the brat go for now. He would deal with him later. But now, he just wanted to feel him, to feel the warmth of his hand jerking him off as he continued thrusting, and the warm, filling sensation of him invading his insides. He just wanted to sink in this alluring sensation now and he didn't want anything else to occupy his mind. 

He only wanted to feel Noiz. 

He thought he would come just like that. But then, he suddenly felt something else that instantly painted his mind white. Trembling uncontrollably under the strong pleasure, he felt more of his own precome dripping and pooling on his stomach, easing Noiz’s pumps as the hand grabbing his dick became wetter. The sensation came so fast he didn't have time to refill the air in his lungs before he was hit by another wave of similar pleasure and he clawed on Noiz’s arms, his whole body shaking violently from the over-stimulation. 

“Feel good?” Noiz’s voice was husky, the hot whisper he muttered at Aoba sending another wave of electric shock all over his body. 

There was no space for Aoba to respond more as he nodded in reply. Licking away the tears from the corner of his eye, Noiz obviously noticed the change of reaction and focused his thrust exclusively on that one spot that would send Aoba crying out loud in pleasure. 

“Noiz, I…I’m gonna…” 

Heaving Aoba up, Noiz made Aoba straddle on him and continued thrusting upwards as Aoba’s insides continued tightening up. As Noiz sank deep in him, he could clearly feel Noiz’s hard pulses and he grabbed onto his neck, biting his shoulder hard as he came, spurting semen all over their abdomens as he stifled his moans under the bite. The furious bite was what sent Noiz over the edge as he pulled Aoba closer and came hard inside of him.

  

 

After they’d calmed down, Noiz pulled himself out of Aoba and both of them collapsed on the bed, still trying to even out their breathing. It took another while for them to clean themselves up and when they were finally spotless, Aoba rested his head in the crook of his neck as they cuddled and indulged themselves in each other’s warmth. 

“How are you feeling?” Noiz asked with a soft voice. 

“Fine, I guess,” Aoba answered lazily. 

They sank back to silence when Aoba suddenly gave out a huge sigh. 

“I can’t believe I just did that with a student.” 

“We aren't teacher and student anymore when we’re outside of the school.” 

“Then what are we? Friends?” Aoba wondered out loud. 

“…I guess that’s one way to put it.” 

Unable to contain the bright smile, Aoba hid his face in Noiz’s shoulder. Noiz was a hard child to approach, and to have him acknowledging him as a friend meant a lot to Aoba. He felt so accomplished now, even more than any of the other jobs he’d done before. He was nearing success he could almost feel it. 

Sinking in his own self-indulged happiness, Aoba only snapped back to his senses when Noiz wrapped his hand around his waist and continued speaking. 

“…But I personally prefer another way of putting it.” 

“Hmm?” 

Noiz was silent for a while before he answered. 

“I prefer to refer you as my boyfriend.” 

He was extremely grateful that the lights were off and that the moonlight was their only source of light. Because he knew that Noiz would definitely make fun of how red his face was upon hearing the brat’s last sentence. He didn't know how to response. The overwhelming emotions had overtaken his ability to speak. But Noiz didn't need any words from him to understand how he felt. The increased heartbeat and the warmth he felt on his fingertips when he caressed Aoba’s cheek were more than enough for him to get the message. 

Lifting his chin up, he gave his small boyfriend a deep kiss that took Aoba’s breath away. 

“W-What… are you doing?” Aoba asked quietly, still flustered and hot from the overwhelming emotions. 

“Something a boyfriend does,” Noiz answered casually as he leaned in for another kiss. 

That night, Aoba witnessed the best smile of Noiz he’d never thought he would live to witness.

 

 

 


	5. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The abrupt change caught Aoba off-guard. He'd expected things to be complicated, but he'd never expected it to be _that_ complicated.

“It’s supposed to spell m-i-s-c-h-i-e-v-o-u-s for mischievous, sensei.” 

Aoba didn’t even bother hiding his irritation as he broke the third chalk in his hand. _Damn brat_. Looking annoyingly over his shoulder, he saw Noiz eyeing cheekily at him _again_ with that teasing smirk on his face. 

Noiz had started attending classes again after that momentous night. Waking up almost four hours earlier than usual, Aoba left a quick note for a sleeping Noiz and dashed out of the house. He’d spent another hour apologizing to an outrageous Tae and a worried Sei before he grabbed a quick breakfast and rushed out of the house again. He’d forgotten to inform his family that he wouldn’t be coming home for the night and the pang of guilt he felt in his chest made him undesirably upset. 

He was contemplating if he should call in sick for the day – thanks to the throbs spreading all over his body – but when he approached the classroom, the consideration was wiped clean off his mind. He was slightly late for class because of the aches, which had caused difficulties for his movements, but the unexpected visitor leaning against the classroom door caught him off guard as he stared open-mouthed at the familiar blonde. 

“N-Noiz! What’re you doing here?” 

“For class, of course,” Noiz said disinterestedly as he straightened his posture. “You’re late.” 

Pouting, Aoba walked with wobbly steps towards the door but Noiz grabbed his wrist and wrapped his hand around his waist as he whispered fervently in his ear, hot breath tingling his ear shell. 

“Is your body okay? You’re almost limping.” 

“What’re you doing?! We’re in school!” Aoba hissed, pushing Noiz away and struggling out of his embrace. 

“Your body is more important.” 

Aoba’s dreadful attempt to suppress the remaining heat from yesterday failed badly as he felt the reappearance of red on his face upon hearing those words. Intending to ignore him again, Aoba walked passed him. His hand was on the door knob when Noiz pulled him back again. 

“I haven’t gotten my morning kiss yet. You left so early this morning. I wanted to see your sleeping face.” 

As if the previous embarrassment he felt wasn’t enough, Aoba felt his face becoming warmer again as he trembled slightly in response to Noiz’s words, reminded of what happened the previous night. 

“Cut it off, Noiz. What if someone sees us?” 

“Let them see.” 

“Seriously, brat.” Scowling, Aoba attempted to break free from him again but the soft and warm sensation he felt on his neck immediately froze all his actions. 

“I’ll settle for this for now,” Noiz smirked and released him as he casually opened the door and walked lazily into the classroom. 

This was really bad for the heart. 

And now, as soon as Aoba turned around to glare at the cheeky brat, he instantly realized that he just dug his own grave. The lime-green eyes staring straight into his eyes sent various implicit messages that rolled straight into his chest and the instant swell of emotions were starting to affect his composure. Realizing how dangerous the situation was, he turned his back towards the class again and continued with what he’d left off before Noiz interrupted, although his change of tone from a firm, sturdy one, to quivering stutters was too obvious for the entire class to miss. 

\--

 

The heavy weight of pressure was lifted off Aoba’s shoulder the moment the bell rang. He was terribly reminded of his first day of work, when he wanted nothing but to escape from the cage of burden. Giving out a relieved sigh, he waved to the students scattering out of the class when Noiz stepped up to him. They were both alone now. It was still nerve-wrecking but at least he was no longer under the pressure of twenty over eyes on him. 

“Lunch?” Noiz asked, taking the pile of books off Aoba’s hands and carrying them in his own arms. 

“The usual?” 

“The usual.” 

Aoba had to admit that he was still very much nervous and confused over the sudden change, especially considering the positions they were in. But the moment he saw Noiz’s relieved smile when he gave him the yes, the suffocating emotions left him almost instantly as he followed Noiz out of the classroom. 

It wasn’t hard to notice that Noiz’s existence was almost like a ghost. Even though he was properly attending classes, properly filling up the usually empty seat at the corner, and properly interacting with him, no one seemed to care about his existence. He did caused a small change of atmosphere in the room the moment he stepped into it, but that was all. No one talked to him, no one even looked at him. 

Aoba wanted Noiz to be completely comfortable with himself. He wanted him to finish school, step into the society, and become a useful person. But there was no point to all of these if Noiz did not enjoy his school life. 

This needed to be changed. 

\--

 

“Ah, Noiz!” 

They were on their way up to the rooftop when a cheery voice halted their steps. Turning around, they saw a blonde guy hurrying towards them. 

“I didn’t expect to see you here!” 

Catching his breath, he smiled brightly at Noiz, who averted his eyes, displease written all over his features. 

“I was taking a break from work so I thought it would be good to look around the school. I didn’t expect myself to be so lucky. I’m so surprised to see you here!” the blonde continued. 

Aoba wasn’t sure if he was ignoring Noiz’s hostility or he simply didn’t notice it because his babbles continued unceasingly after that, jumping from the topic of students being overenthusiastic over the food in the cafeteria to teachers being too occupied for lunch. He was about to shift the topic towards the school curriculum when he suddenly – finally – noticed the extra presence between them. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” he switched his attention to Aoba and held out his hand. “I tend to get overexcited when I see Noiz. I’m so sorry I got carried away.” 

Aoba took his hand and gave it a firm shook. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get your name?” 

Unsure if he should be more formal or informal with this stranger, Aoba chose the safest, most common route. 

“I’m Seragaki Aoba, a teacher in this school.” 

“Oh! You’re Aoba! Noiz told me a lot about you, he said you’re—“ 

“Actually we’re on our way for lunch,” Noiz interrupted. “If we stay any longer, we’re gonna miss the time.” 

Smiling repentantly, the strange guy anxiously apologized. 

“I’m so sorry!” 

He was apologizing way too much. 

Without the intention to continue listening, Noiz grabbed Aoba’s wrist and continued their way up the staircase. 

Aoba knew that Noiz hold a lot of secrets which he might or might not want to share with him. But now that their relationship had progressed into a deeper level, the doubts in him had also magnified greatly. Although so, he wasn’t going to confront Noiz about it. He’d wait for the time to come when Noiz would spill everything out to him. He’d waited for half a year, a few more months wouldn't be a problem. 

But what if it would take more than a few months? 

“Who’s that?” Aoba blurted out, unable to contain the curiosity in him. 

“An acquaintance,” Noiz answered nonchalantly, but his tone had assured Aoba enough to tell him that he wasn't keen to continue with the topic. He was stating the obvious and Aoba was sure that he’d noticed it himself. Aoba being Aoba, he couldn't help but tried to figure out the answer by himself. Really, who was that guy? The way he talked to Noiz made it seem as if they’d known each other for a long time. A friend? But Noiz had no friends. Koujaku had confirmed that. A family member? But Noiz stayed by himself. If he was a family member, shouldn't they be staying together? 

The unstoppable blooming of questions was starting to conquer Aoba’s mind and it showed. Sighing quietly, Noiz gestured Aoba to their usual hangout place and nudged him, bringing him back from his realm of thoughts. 

“Do you want to eat on top today?” Noiz asked, pointing his chin at the rooftop. 

“Can we?” Aoba’s eyes brightened immediately. The trick worked. 

“I’ll bring you up,” Noiz confirmed and without waiting, he helped Aoba up the ladder and they settled comfortably side-by-side within minutes. 

“Wow, you can see everything here!” Stretching, Aoba exhaled loudly and gazed perplexedly at the city view below them. He wasn't able to properly enjoy the view the last time he was here. That time, he was far too consumed by his own self-conscious and embarrassment. But now, the white coating the city stunned him. The more he stared, the more it looked like a picture of a snow town. 

“Is this why you like it here so much?” Aoba teased, shooting Noiz with a playful sideways glance. 

Noiz hummed lightly and lied flat on his back. Taking that as a yes, Aoba followed suit and lied beside him. The calm winter breeze swept through them and they closed their eyes, serenely indulged in the temporary peace. 

“It feels better to be able to share this with someone,” Noiz muttered suddenly, the initial drowsiness that almost took away Aoba’s consciousness disappeared into thin air and was immediately replaced by an unknown spread of warmth accompanied by a skip of the heartbeat. 

Acting like he’d said nothing, Noiz sat up and opened up his lunchbox as he stared attentively at the content, as usual. 

“There’s nothing new in here.” 

“Don’t complain. You should be grateful there’s lunch today. Thanks to last night, I literally had to beg Sei to prepare lunch for us.” 

It was too late to repair the damage. He’d initiated the topic himself. There were countless of times he felt like slapping himself for his choice of words, including this time, and Noiz’s smirk that he witnessed seconds after he’d blurted out that statement made him feel like jumping off the roof and into the piled up snow below them. 

Aoba’s voluntarily mention of last night’s event acted as a consent for Noiz as he shifted closer to him and wrapped his hand around Aoba’s waist, pulling him closer. 

“Will you accept my apology?” he muttered, effectively painting a deeper shade of red on Aoba’s cheeks. 

His head turned mushy and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeats when Noiz gently turned his chin towards him and kissed him deeply, blurring out the messed up thoughts in his head as he welcomed the invading tongue and moaned softly into Noiz’s mouth. 

Before he was fully captivated by the familiar sensation he’d experienced less than twelve hours ago, Noiz broke their kiss and pulled him into a firm hug. 

“That was a great morning kiss,” he muttered into his hair. 

“Shitty brat.”

 

 

“What do you think about the school?” 

“Huh?” 

Aoba gaped. It was a question he’d never expect to hear from the brat. In fact, he was supposed to be the one asking the question. But since this was one of the rare moments of Noiz asking anything other than food, he decided to just overlook the confusion and get his brain to work. 

“It’s fine, I suppose. It was really crazy at first, but as I start getting a hang of it, it’s actually pretty good.” 

“Hmm.” 

“Why’re you asking?” 

“….Just curious.” 

If there was one thing he could change about Noiz, he wished the nineteen-year-old could be more outspoken so that he wouldn't need to deal with this left-him-hanging business all the time. 

“To actually think about it,” Aoba continued, attempting to squeeze out the limited willingness for Noiz to speak up. “You were transferred here two years ago, right? What were you doing before coming here?” 

Noiz stuffed a piece of sea cucumber into his mouth, taking his own sweet time to answer. Assuming that he was actually taking his question seriously, Aoba’s heart dropped when was replied with a thoughtless “nothing much”. He was obviously trying to avoid the question. 

Sometimes he couldn't help but felt that the brat was always trying to hide something from him. What was it that he couldn't tell him despite them already being in such an intimate relationship? 

Sighing, he went back to his lunch, only to feel a hand ruffling his hair aggressively and almost causing him to dive head-first into his lunchbox. 

“Wh—“ 

“You’re a good teacher.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’m surprised at how patient you can get with a student like me,” Noiz paused before he continued with a more serious tone. “I really appreciate the moments we spent together. When you fell off her last time, I realized that I never want to see you getting hurt. The thought of losing you and being left alone again was too painful to bear.” 

Perhaps the feeling of Noiz acting a bit too matured for his age wasn't an illusion after all. Aoba was starting to feel a bit emotional but…. 

“And you look cute in bed.” 

“Wh—“ 

This brat. 

Puckering, Aoba smacked Noiz in the head, almost causing him to choke on his food as he massaged the spot where Aoba had hit him. 

“Ouch. That hurts.” 

“Serve you right.” 

Smirking, Noiz moved slowly and hugged the pouting man from behind, placing his head on Aoba’s shoulder. 

“But the way you trembled and writhed under my touch was so seductive. I can almost feel it on my tongue now.” 

Noiz’s whisper in his ear was threatening to take his self-control away from him. 

“Can I see it again?” the brat continued shamelessly. 

Squirming uncomfortably in his embrace, Aoba shifted slightly and froze upon feeling the hardness poking his back. 

“Insatiable brat.” 

Abandoning the thought of fearing someone might see them, Aoba allowed Noiz to trace his tongue along the back of his ear, along his neck, and finally, into his mouth. 

It seemed that he needed to add in another item to teach the brat now – self-discipline. 

\--

 

It took another week for Aoba to finally muster the guts to bring Noiz home. Noiz was a bit hesitant at first, but after Aoba’s continuous assurance, he finally submitted. 

After stopping by Noiz’s house one fine evening, both of them paced their way towards Aoba’s house, hand-in-hand. It was the starting of January and the snow had started to melt away. Although so, they still held each other in their hands, sharing each other’s warmth as they chatted thoughtlessly along the way. 

Finally standing in front of the Seragaki household, Noiz unconsciously grabbed Aoba’s hand before they were about to step in and was returned with a firmer grip and a comforting smile. They’d talked about this before, now they just needed to make the step. 

“We’re home!” Aoba announced as he opened the front door, revealing a short hallway. 

Noiz had yet to properly adjust his breathing when they heard rustling footsteps approaching them, growing louder with every passing second. 

“Welcome home, Aoba,” Sei appeared shortly, an apron over him with a pair of cooking mittens over his hands. 

As soon as he saw Noiz, he smiled gently at him. 

“Hi, Noiz. I’ve heard a lot about you from Aoba. Nice to—oops,” reaching out a hand, he withdrew it almost immediately and took off the mitten before he held it up again. 

“Nice to meet you.” 

He had the same smile as Aoba, the smile that possessed the power to warm one’s heart. No further clarification was needed to confirm that they were _indeed_ twins. The similarity was too apparent to miss. Noiz took his hand and shook it. His hand was warm too, as warm as the pair of eyes now scanning him from head to toe. 

“Please come in and make yourself comfortable. We’re still preparing dinner but don’t worry, it’ll be done soon,” Sei continued and he walked casually back into the kitchen, leaving Aoba and Noiz alone in the living room. 

“See, I told you Sei is nice.” 

“I’m not worried about your brother, I’m more worried of—“ 

“Why are you back so early?!” 

They jumped when Tae stormed out of the kitchen with a ladle in her hand. Immediately standing protectively in front of Noiz, Aoba started to solve things out with his grandma. 

“Well, you’ll have to wait. We’re almost done but we’re expecting someone else to join us so we can’t start dinner before he comes.” 

Tae ended briefly and walked back into the kitchen. 

“Ah, I guess that’s the case,” Aoba scratched his head and smiled apologetically at Noiz. 

“Don’t worry. I can wait.” 

“Yeah…. I wasn’t informed about the extra guest. Sorry.” Picking up Noiz’s hand, Aoba led him out of the living room and into the hallway. 

“I’ll show you my room, then, since we have some extra time now.” 

“Heh.” 

“I know that face, you perverted brat.” 

Frowning, Aoba pushed Noiz up the staircase and stopped in front of a room with a blue door located at the far end of the corridor. 

“I didn't expect visitors today, so it’s a bit messy,” Aoba grunted as he turned the door open. 

“It’s fine. Anything of yours is perfect.” 

“Such a sweet talker.”

 

  

An hour passed by before Tae shouted them down for dinner. Hastily breaking free from Noiz, Aoba had to literally drag him out of the room. Noiz had become extremely clingy and there was nothing Aoba could do about that, not like he wanted to, anyway. He was a bit confused with the sudden change of behavior but at the same time, he didn't have the heart to leave Noiz alone. Sometimes he wondered if he was starting to treat Noiz like a rabbit. 

Noiz seemed to get along well with Sei. It shouldn't be a problem. Tae could be slightly hard to deal with but Aoba knew his grandma well enough to know that she would accept it eventually as long as Aoba was happy. It shouldn't be a problem too. 

There shouldn't be a problem. 

Supposedly. 

“Hey, Aoba.” 

Both Noiz and Aoba froze at the doorway, so did the guest. Koujaku darted his eyes from Noiz to Aoba, then back to Noiz again. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Sei and Tae came into the room to settle down the dishes on the table, breaking the silence and urging Noiz and Aoba to sit down. 

He’d totally forgotten about this huge mystery which was yet to be solved. It used to bug him a lot, but the intimate time he’d spent with Noiz for the past one month together had managed to push the worries and suspicions to the back of his mind. It had worked well even when it was temporary. But he was forcefully reminded of the plot hole now that both the main characters of the mystery story were present in the room. 

“Honestly, Aoba, when you asked me about why someone would kiss you back then, I didn't expect it to be a guy.” 

Sei saved the day. He did not only break the awkwardness, but he also successfully put Aoba’s brain into a struggle between feeling pitifully embarrassed and conflicted at the same time. He could feel Koujaku’s piercing stare at him while Noiz picked a food from one of the dishes and elbowed Aoba. 

“What’s this?”

Snapping back to the matters on his hands, Aoba shot a quick glance at the piece of food Noiz was pointing at and answered. 

“It’s unagi, grilled eel.” 

“Hmmm.” 

Humming softly, Noiz stuffed it into his mouth and muttered. 

“Sweet.” 

“It’s bec—“ 

“Of course it’s sweet. It’s flavored.” 

Aoba’s habitual explanation of the taste of any food Noiz tasted was interrupted by Koujaku, who continued piling more food on his almost-full bowl without looking up. Noiz, however, looked up at Koujaku and stared at him wordlessly for a brief moment before he dove back to his own food. 

There was definitely something between them. Awkward wasn't the best word. It was more like a sense of gentle intimacy, a different kind of affection unfamiliar to Aoba. The last time Aoba had seen them crossing each other’s path was in the infirmary, and it didn't end in a positive manner. Now that both of them were calm and normal, Aoba had to admit that he was very interested to see where this situation would lead them to, and on top of all, he secretly hoped that his doubts towards the “something” between them would reveal by itself without the need for him to say anything at all. 

Noiz never asked anything about the food that was prepared for them anymore. He merely took what looked decent for him and gobbled them down. Koujaku, despite being the usual talkative one, was surprisingly quiet most of the time, only responding when Tae or Sei brought out something that concerned him. Although Noiz wasn't particularly vocal, he still maintained that composed smile at all times and responded – with great amusement from Aoba – in a formal yet respectful way whenever Sei or Tae directed any questions to him. Aoba’s worries didn't seem necessary at all.

 

 

The dinner session only lasted for an hour. After placing the dishes in the sink, both Koujaku and Noiz were rushed out of the kitchen by the three house owners as they retreated to the living room and sat at each side of the couch, obviously trying very hard to avoid each other’s gaze. 

“So both of you are dating now, huh?” 

Koujaku started, purposely ignoring the small jump Noiz made in response to the sudden question. He merely nodded in reply, his voice stuck in his own throat. 

“How long has it been?” Koujaku continued, still pressing on the matter. 

“…One month.” 

“The kid sure knows how to hide things from me now, eh?” As if laughing at himself, Koujaku chuckled and lighted up his cigarette. 

“You’re still smoking?” Noiz asked cautiously, finally looking at Koujaku now and wrinkling his nose at the smell of the smoke invading his nose. 

“Old habits are hard to break, brat.” 

Their conversation broke off there and silence swept through them again. 

“….It’s bad for health,” Noiz muttered after what felt like forever, his voice small but clear. 

Koujaku beamed at the statement and reached out to ruffle Noiz’s hair. 

“Thanks for worrying about me. But,” Koujaku inhaled a lungful of smoke and blew it out slowly before he continued. “..leave those worries for Aoba. He would need a lot of it.” 

“Yeah,” Noiz answered slowly. Then, he broke into a small smile. “He would need a lot of it.” 

The smile Koujaku witnessed on Noiz’s face seemed to act as a reassurance for him as he leaned back lazily against the couch. 

“You haven’t told him anything about us, right?” 

“There’s no need to tell him.” 

“I think you should. It’s only fair for him.” 

Noiz sank into his own deep realm of thought but his hesitance was obvious. He understood how important it was to be completely honest and transparent with each other but to actually bring up the subject would be challenging, especially now that things were all sweet and soft between them. 

“Do you need my help?” 

Even after all these years, Koujaku still never failed to see through him. It made Noiz guilty for a slight moment but he recovered fast. Shaking his head, he looked up and straight into Koujaku’s eyes. 

“I’ll do it. If this is what needs to be done, I’ll do it myself.” 

Koujaku stunned for a few seconds. The Noiz he saw now was a different Noiz he knew. He broke into a relieved, gentle smile upon realizing how much Noiz had grown throughout the times he’d spent with Aoba as he wrestled the brat into a forceful hug.

“That’s my boy.” 

They bounced off each other the moment they heard footsteps behind them, looking up just to see a disgruntled Aoba scowling at their childish, immature behaviors. 

\--

 

Finally possessing the resolution to tell Aoba about the things between him and Koujaku was a totally different matter from finding the right time to tell him. The challenge to find the perfect time to break the news to Aoba had been conquering most of the space in Noiz’s head now that he’d decided to be totally open with his insecure lover. He knew Aoba was very curious and interested to know about the history between him and Koujaku. But the thing was, he wasn't even sure if Aoba was ready to find out the truth. 

The distraction had taken a toll on him one night when Aoba decided to stay over for the weekend using the very forced and weak excuse to help him clean up the house. Noiz knew that this was the perfect chance to roll the topic out but at the same time, the same question remained: How to start? 

Upon feeling the violent tug on his dick piercing, he was immediately pulled back to reality as he looked down to see a scowling Aoba – with his cock still buried in his mouth – glancing up at him. Noticing the lacked of attention, Aoba released his cock with a soft pop. 

“What are you thinking? You seemed distracted.” 

Aoba was still trying hard to adapt to Noiz’s overly active sexual needs. However, Noiz’s unusual behavior tonight betrayed who he usually was and there was no way they could continue comfortably without getting the problem solved. 

This was it. Noiz motioned Aoba to the bed and settled both of them under the blanket. Aoba, although still confused with the sudden halt of action, rested his head on Noiz’s chest as Noiz wrapped his arm around his waist. The problem was starting to affect not only their daily lives, but their sex lives as well. It needed to be settled. 

“I need to tell you something,” Noiz began. He figured that Aoba should’ve seen this day coming, and the doubts of whether Aoba was ready to listen to what he had to say struck him again. When he took too long to continue, Aoba poked him on the face and stared eagerly, urging him to carry on. 

“It’s about Koujaku.”

The hitch of breath he heard swelled his chest a little. 

“I’m listening.”

That was the only thing Aoba could say in response. 

Noiz fell silent. Now that he’d led them into the topic, he needed to know where to start, and it troubled him because he didn't know. Noticing his struggles, Aoba gave out a huge sigh. 

“I remember Koujaku saying something about him saving you from a group of delinquents.” 

Oh, yeah. It all happened from that _one_ incident. 

Smiling appreciatively at Aoba’s attempt to help, Noiz brushed his hair as he searched for the right way to start off his story. 

Noiz was an intelligent student. He was indeed, a top student, so smart sometimes the teachers wondered if there was even a necessity for him to attend classes. He could easily be the most desirable student in school if not because of his poor communication skill, which was also what lured him into most of the troubles he’d gotten himself into. He wasn't a school person in the first place. He didn't have any friends. And he spent most of the time by himself. Even during break times, he spent his time in the classroom, merely gazing out of the window and looking at what others were doing instead of joining them. And those were chances created for Koujaku to step into his life. 

He didn't want to be involved with anyone. But he knew Koujaku was a responsible teacher; in fact, a too responsible one. Before Aoba joined the school, Koujaku was initially their homeroom teacher. So when he saw Noiz being all alone, his job instinct was set to work immediately. When Koujaku approached him, it started off as a pure sense of responsibility. He tried talking to him, he tried scolding him, he tried dragging him to places. But Noiz only felt oddly frustrated at that moment of time. He just wanted Koujaku to leave him alone. 

He didn't need help. 

He didn't _know_ he needed help. 

When Koujaku defeated the group of delinquents for him, he felt weird. Why would anyone want to help him? How would it benefit them? And when Koujaku squatted down, ruffled his hair, and asked him if he was okay, the first question that came out of his mouth earned him another punch in the face. A punch so hard unlike any of the punches and kicks he’d received from the delinquents earlier. 

 _So what do you want? Sex? Money? Or both?_  

He’d lived through half of his life with this mindset and he wasn't prepared for a change. He didn't have time for any further responses. The next thing he knew, he was being pinned against the wall; the old man shouting so loud in his face he thought he would go deaf from the noise. He didn't know what went wrong. 

People only approached him for sex or money. What made this time any difference? 

Then, before he knew it, the old man was asking him if he felt pain from the punch. 

He didn't understand any of this. Why would he ask him things like that after he’d hurt him? He was not used to this kind of treatment. He was confused and he didn't like it at all. Things were simpler if his opponent could just state what they wanted. So, he asked again. 

 _What do you want?_  

The old man didn't punch him this time. He merely looked at him, a tinge of sadness obvious in his eyes. He had never seen those emotions before. Not even from his own family members. 

Why? 

After that, more whys grew in his head. They became so frustrating he didn't have the mood to go with the flow anymore. So he decided to just stop everything he was doing. He still attended school, but he couldn't attend classes anymore. Seeing the old man confused him even more. He hated it this way. He didn't need this additional stress. He was in the school for another reason. He couldn't afford to be sidetracked. 

But it happened. 

When Koujaku confronted him in front of the school gate one month after the incident, he wanted to escape again. But Koujaku won’t allow it. He dragged him onto the rooftop, where no one would overhear them. He interrogated him, asking him why he was purposefully falling back and why he was avoiding him. He was asking him all the whys he’d asked himself all this while. He didn't want to deal with it. They were too troublesome. 

But Koujaku won’t let it go. He continued confronting him, pushing his limit over and over again. 

And then, it broke. The endurance limit. 

Broke. 

He’d never screamed so loud in his life before. He remembered telling Koujaku to stop tailing him, to stop being so concerned about him, to stop disturbing his life, to stop _everything_ he was doing with his life. He didn't know what happened. He didn't know how it happened. All he could feel was the aches in his throat and the wetness on his face and the warmth wrapping his body. He didn't know what happened. 

They’d slept together. He thought everything was going to end right now. His burden would be lifted off his shoulders. He’d found himself a guardian. 

Who cares about school? Who cares about the initial purpose he was here? Who cares about responsibility? 

He only wanted to be happy. 

That was all he ever wanted. 

But that was all a short-termed illusion. 

Koujaku had confronted him again few weeks after they’d had sex. It was obviously something hard to be pronounced out loud because he’d never seen him stuttering in the whole year he’d known him. He should’ve expected it. 

 _It wasn't appropriate. What we did was merely out of impulse. I only wanted you to understand._

_I am not the right person_. 

He’d told him all these after he thought that everything was finally falling into the right places. He’d crushed the perfect picture. 

He crushed everything.

 

 

Aoba was quiet the entire time. When Noiz finished, they fell into silent again. He wasn't sure of what to do now. He could only wait.

But Aoba wasn't in the same case as Noiz. There were a lot of things running through his mind now. All the things Noiz had asked him. Did he ask Koujaku the same thing as well? 

 _That sounds awfully familiar_. 

Did Koujaku tell him the same thing as well? 

 _I do have the experience, but I was at the receiving end. So technically, this is my first time too_. 

So the experience he was talking about was with Koujaku? 

He didn't know how to deal with this. He knew it was already the past and now Noiz loved him and he loved Noiz. They loved each other. He had no doubt about that. He trusted Noiz. But the thought of him falling in bed with Koujaku kept flashing across his mind and he couldn't get them off. It was so vividly true. 

So were they sleeping on the same bed as they were when they did it? 

As that thought flashed through his head, Aoba sat up abruptly, shocking Noiz. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. He understood what happened between Noiz and Koujaku was only out of impulse and it wasn't the same as how it’d happened between him and Noiz. They’d had more time to understand each other. Their love never happened within days. They’d come a long way to finally reach here. They’d known each other well enough to fall in love. 

But did he _really_ know everything about Noiz? 

The constant hunch of Noiz hiding something from him struck him again and he buried his head between his knees, attempting to shut the overloaded thoughts off. Why was he comparing himself with Koujaku? It was the past. Koujaku had said it himself. It was done out of impulse. Noiz might have gotten a huge shock which had potentially caused him to stop attending classes, stop attending exams, and even stopped interacting with everyone else. But now he changed. Aoba changed him. They loved each other. 

But why did he keep feeling that he was hiding something else from him? 

“Aoba?” 

Noiz’s voice brought him back to reality. He turned around and saw Noiz looking at him, worries evident on his face. He loved him. But he couldn't face him now. He wasn't in the right state of mind, he wasn't prepared yet, and he knew perfectly well what would happen if he dove straight into the problem now. 

He needed time. It wasn't anyone’s fault. He just needed time. 

“I’m sorry, Noiz. Give me some time.” 

That was the last thing he said to Noiz before he hurried out of the house. Little did he know that this was the last thing he would say to him before Noiz made a very important decision. 

  

* * *

 

Noiz had sent him numerous messages constantly over the past week of them not seeing each other. Those were not messages to persuade him back. Those were merely messages sent out of concern. 

 _It’s gonna rain today. Remember to bring an umbrella_. 

He still turned up in classes, but they never talked to each other. They no longer ate on the rooftop. Koujaku obviously sensed that something was wrong but no matter how hard he tried to probe words out of Aoba, he refused to tell him anything. 

 _The cafeteria food tastes weird…._  

Aoba was still waiting for time to heal his doubts. His self-conscious was killing him, slowly but surely. He needed time. He knew he couldn't solve this without a clear mind.

 _I found a good recipe to make takoyaki._  

Two weeks after they’d stopped seeing each other, Noiz stopped turning up in school. Aoba was suspicious when he noticed the empty seat where Noiz used to sit. But he still received daily messages from Noiz, which slightly eased his worries. 

 _I need to tell you something._  

Three weeks after they’d stopped seeing each other, Noiz’s messages stopped. For the first two days, Aoba thought that he was dealing with something else. But after a few days of not hearing anything from Noiz, he started worrying. He didn't intend for things to end up this way. Noiz was still technically his boyfriend. He wasn't ready to give up on this relationship. He was already preparing to properly apologize to Noiz for being such a timid partner. But he couldn't find him. He tried calling him, but the phone operator informed him that the number was no longer in use. He went to his house just to find out that he’d moved. But the worst of all was when he checked on the student directory, he couldn't find Noiz’s data at all. 

It was as if he was really a ghost. 

His traces were gone. Completely gone. He had disappeared entirely. 

Desperately scrolling through the messages he sent him for a sign of hint, he reached to the bottom of the list and the last message hit him so hard in the face he crashed into his pillow, unable to stop the overflowing tears. Why didn't he sense this hidden message earlier? 

_Goodbye, sensei._

 

 


	6. Your Reply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ending is a new beginning. 
> 
> When everything comes to an end, it only takes a small twist to start anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the last chapter of this two-weeks long fic ;w; Thank you to everyone for staying with me when I was working on this. Your support and kind comments mean a lot to me <3 
> 
> Thank you to [Fio](http://archiveofourown.org/users/fio13) for going through this final chapter for me ;w;
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Thank you for the ride & I hope you enjoy this final chapter <3

_Hey Noiz, are you making that takoyaki? I can buy the ingredients if you want._  

Aoba still remembered Noiz’s warmth when they held each other in their arms. Smiling foolishly at himself, he supported his face with his hand and stared thoughtlessly at his phone’s screen. He couldn’t remember how many times he’d reread Noiz’s messages. He never deleted them. He didn't want to, and eventually, the messages became his daily emotional support as he felt the slight twinge of twitch in his chest and how the tiny beads to tears threatening to roll off the corners of his eyes. 

He’d gotten promoted when he returned to the school on the first week of February. The promotion came as a shock to him. He didn't know what he’d done exceptionally well to deserve the honor. But when Koujaku reassured him over and over again, the reality sank into him gradually and he started to adapt to his new-found fate, although he knew that he was merely occupying his time with work so that he could keep thoughts of Noiz out of the way. 

But it wasn't easy. Noiz had always been on the top of his mind ever since he started working in the school. Every corner was filled with Noiz’s shadow. He was trying to avoid the rooftop but before he knew it, he found his legs disobeying his brain, bringing him back to the small, abandoned store room they used to hang out. Koujaku tried to grab him to lunch whenever he found the chance but his kind attempt made him feel worse. He was trying to act as normal as he could but the surrounding effort became a constant reminder of things he didn't want to remember. Thus, ironically, when he dragged his feet up the rooftop again, he found the familiar peace saving his thoughts. 

It kind of made him feel as if Noiz was there, as if he never left. 

 

* * *

 

 _Hey Noiz, I remember you wanted to tell me something? What is it? I’m listening. Tell me._  

It had been a month. Aoba had started to get use to the absence of Noiz in his life. He’d spent more time with Koujaku, Mink and Clear. He tried to get interested with rumors that everyone was hotly discussing. He also tried to hang out more often with his students. He was doing well. But the truth was, he knew he hadn’t release the thoughts of Noiz off his mind completely. It was evident from the many messages he’d sent to Noiz, most of them replying to old messages Noiz had sent him. He knew they won’t reach him. Noiz’s phone line was cut off for almost a month now and it was impossible for him to see those messages. But for some reason, he couldn’t help but kept sending a message out to him every day, constantly deceiving himself and desperately grasping onto the very, very slim hope. Perhaps one day he would reply him. 

Maybe. Just, maybe. 

It became a daily routine. He would scroll through the long list of messages Noiz had sent him and randomly chose one to reply. But at times when he got so overwhelmed with all the memories they’d went through together, he found himself sending out extra messages to him - words that he didn't manage to tell him and words that he may never get to tell him again. 

 _I miss you, Noiz. I’m sorry_.

 

* * *

 

“Aoba, wait!” 

Aoba stopped at the doorway, halfway wearing his shoes, and turning back to see Sei rushing out of the kitchen with a box of food in his hand. 

“You forgot to take this.” 

Aoba stared at the box Sei had pushed into his hand, confused. He was pretty sure he’d taken his lunchbox with him. Smiling happily, Sei patted Aoba on the head as he leaned in and gave him a brief kiss on the forehead. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Aoba. Please accept this small love from your brother.” 

Oh, it’s Valentine’s today. 

Aoba had totally forgotten about it. But he’d stopped keeping track with time anyway. Beaming brightly, he hugged his brother and muttered a “thank you” back at him before he rushed out of the house, the familiar twinge of pain clenching his heart. 

\--

 

The school was pretty overwhelming today. Not only that it was filled with couples Aoba never knew existed, it was also full with sappy decorations in every corner of the school ground. A few female students approached Aoba the moment he stepped in, filling up his hands with chocolates and present boxes. Some approached him alone; some in a group. There were also some students whose intentions Aoba was perfectly sure of, but he merely smiled at them and patted them on the head, without giving them any further response. 

He was happy to see the school ground being so lively today. He definitely needed some of these positive auras. In fact, the school should probably cancel all the classes today since he figured that no one would have the mood for classes anyway. 

He was about to step into the school building when an announcement rang across the school ground. It was rare for announcement to be made in the school. The only times Aoba heard the announcement function being actively used was when Noiz was still around, in which he became a frequent visitor of the principal office. The reminder sent another squeeze to his heart. It was yet _another_ mystery of Noiz he didn’t get to solve. It was probably normal for him to get summoned in such a frequent basis, seeing how problematic his case was; but the mystery of why did the school allowed his misbehavior and why did he take the whole thing in such a casual way still remained. 

“ _Attention, please proceed to the school hall immediately. We have an important announcement to make_.” 

This was even unusual. Aoba had never heard of anything from the levels above him before. He had never met anyone from the higher levels. He got into the school without going through any interviews. He only followed Koujaku’s order, who was technically his direct boss before he got promoted. There was little to no information about the school’s background at all. Aoba had tried to check it out when he attempted to dig Noiz’s background out but he’d found nothing at all. This initiative made by the school itself was indeed very intriguing. 

It would be really enthralling to finally see exactly _who_ his real boss was. 

He was about to step into the school hall when a faint beep echoed from his phone. 

 _Will you be my Valentine?_  

It was from a number he didn’t know. Assuming it as a spam, Aoba deleted the message and buried the phone deep into his pocket as he followed the crowd into the hall.

 

 

The students pooled into the school hall in groups. Confused of what he should do, he looked around to see Koujaku waving at him from a far corner. He walked towards him reflexively and realized that both Mink and Clear were also standing there, waiting for further instructions. 

“I think we are supposed to sit there.” Koujaku said, pointing towards the front row of seats where their names were being labeled on the chair. 

“I guess they had been planning this for a while.” He continued as Aoba followed his gaze to the stage in front of the hall, which was decorated with a blanket of red carpet and a splendid-looking podium in the center. 

“You don’t know anything about it?” Aoba asked, curious. Koujaku, being one of the higher level instructors, was always the first one to know when something happened around the school. When he shook his head, Aoba’s curiosity heightened and he scanned the hall again, attempting to find a hint of some sort. 

Before he could find any, Koujaku nudged him and they proceeded to their seats. The noise in the hall dissolved gradually as everyone settled down. The silence was deafening. Everyone was waiting. It could be a surprise Valentine’s Day celebration of some sort; but according to Koujaku, the school never did anything like this for them before, and it made Aoba wonder if they had decided to break the tradition. If that was so, the teaser was definitely working. 

When whispers started echoing through the hall, they heard footsteps from the stage as heads turned towards the stage reflexively. 

Someone was on the stage. Someone they didn’t know. No one had seen this person before. 

No one, except Aoba. 

Even though he’d only saw this person once, the impression he left was more than enough for Aoba to remember him the moment he saw him. The eye-catching blond hair and the bright, cheerful smile were obvious hints to reveal his identity. He always thought that he was a teacher. But apparently, he was _more_ than just a teacher. When the stranger stood in front of the podium, beaming at everyone brightly, the entire hall froze. Everyone was waiting again, scanning the tall, joyful man from head to toe, and waiting for him to break the mystery now obscuring everyone’s mind. 

“Good morning, everyone!” He started off with a voice so clear and loud it echoed throughout the hall. 

“I believe I haven’t properly introduced myself yet.” He continued, hands instinctively tidying up his tie and his coat as he straightened his posture. 

“I’m the current principal of the school.” A few gasps were heard and Aoba flinched. He couldn’t believe he’d met his boss and had failed to recognize him. Secretly hoping that he didn’t make a fool out of himself during that one time they’d met, Aoba gaped at the fine blond, who had paused a while and waiting for the noise to fade away. 

“Trust me, I would really love to spend more time with everyone here, especially when it’s such a special day today!” He smiled brightly at a group of students sitting at a far corner and continued. “But unfortunately, today would probably be the first and last time we would see each other.” 

Clatters aroused again. They’d just met the owner of the school, and now they would never see him again. It wasn’t really a necessity for a school owner to make an appearance every day. He shouldn’t have so much time to take care of every single details of the school, especially when he was managing such a prominent and huge school; and that was why they had higher level staff to help them out. It was completely understandable of why he had never made an appearance before. That was why Aoba was never too persistent in meeting him in person, even when he had been working in the school for almost a year. 

“I’m returning to my home country tomorrow and what’ll happen from now onwards is exactly why we are here now. I may not be able to witness how all of you grow up wonderfully into a person of yourself but I’m sure the next person who’ll be taking my seat can act as a perfect witness for me.” 

Now the attention was diverse to the “new person” the to-be-former principle mentioned. As if enjoying the sound of speculation, the foreigner beamed cheerfully as he scanned around. When he made eye contact with Aoba, his smile brightened and he sent him a small wink before he cleared his throat again. 

“I hate to burst your bubble but it’s not one of your teachers. Because this is our family business, so sadly, we couldn’t hand it over to an outsider, although I know how excellent your teachers are.” The blond gave out a soft sigh, but the slight miserable expression was soon replaced by a brighter one as he continued. “But don’t worry! I can assure you that the next person who’ll replace me is more than capable for the job. He had been around for a few years and had been working with me to make this school a better place!” 

The air in the hall froze. The moment of truth was nearing. Clearing his throat, the blond’s grin widened as he announced. 

“I hereby announce the induction of Midorijima Private High School’s new principal. Please put your hands together for my brother, Noiz!” 

.

..

… 

…What? 

At that specific moment, Aoba heard nothing but the echoes of Noiz’s name in his own ears. The name he had been desperately trying to forget; the name he had been desperately wanting to mutter again, and again, and again. As he returned his attention to the stage, he saw it. 

That familiar blond; that familiar pair of lime-green eyes; that familiar slender build. 

That familiar expressionless profile. 

That familiar… name. 

Noiz. 

The only unfamiliar thing about the slender blond now standing in front of the podium was his clean, piercing-less face. He was also in a tidy, sleek suit. He looked different from head to toe, a style so unlike the nineteen-year-old Aoba knew. 

He felt Koujaku fidgeted beside him, and he turned to see the senior tutor gluing his eyes on his former student. No one expected this to happen. No one knew what to expect in the first place. The reality they were forced to swallow now was a bit too hard for them to stomach at the moment. 

What was happening? 

Aoba followed Noiz with his gaze – from the moment he walked onto the stage, to the moment he stood in front of the podium. He looked so fine, with a composure so unlike his true age. Everyone’s eyes were on him. Aoba always felt that Noiz’s presence in the school was always very weak. He was like a shadow of his own, slipping through humans like air. No one seemed to care about him; no one ever looked at him. And now, ironically, everyone’s eyes were on him; now everyone actually cared. 

Even without his signature piercings, he never changed. At least that was what Aoba thought. 

Noiz scanned around disinterestedly before he moved closer to the microphone. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. No one dared to say anything. They were probably shocked, curious, or maybe both. Noiz was looking at everywhere but him while Aoba turned into a huge meat of contradictions. He was surprised, curious, angry, happy, all in one. He had millions of questions he wanted to throw at the man in front of him. He wanted to grab him on the collar and ask him where he disappeared to. He wanted to know what happened to him. 

But he kept them all in his head. He was still sober enough to know that this wasn’t the time to throw questions at him, especially now that he was supposed to be his superior. 

“Good morning, everyone.” His voice was steady and toneless as how Aoba remembered it to be, a huge contrast with the brother’s. 

Noiz took a deep breath before he continued. 

“I believe that some of us might have met each other before.” He said as he glanced at certain parts of the student crowd. “I was a student in this school for three years. The fact is, I was supposed to stay only for a year to familiarize myself with the surrounding and to know the school culture before I take over this position. But, unexpected circumstances happened.” Now Noiz’s gaze was on Koujaku, who was displaying an expression between confused and guilt. “And I stayed longer than needed.” 

He paused again, allowing the crowd to digest the very brief background he’d just provided. 

“But I don’t regret my decision for staying back longer, and I’m very grateful for what had happened because if not, I wouldn’t be exposed to so many things all at once. As I earned my education from home-schooling, I didn’t have much of a schooling experience; and thanks to those life-changing experiences, I did not only learn about the school itself, but also about relationships, about life, and about the world. For that, I would like to say thank you.” 

“I didn’t know what it was being human. I lived for equivalent exchange of benefits. But after these three years, I’ve learned that life wasn’t all about that, and I’m determined to share the knowledge with you, who might be in the same shoe as I was.” 

Koujaku gaped at Noiz the entire time, but his shivers were too obvious to miss. If it wasn’t for the pressuring circumstance he was in, Aoba was pretty sure he would’ve charged himself at the nineteen-year-old now, and perhaps gave him a few good punches in the face. 

“Of course, there are still a lot of things that I need to learn, and I’m looking forward to those experiences in the future.” Noiz continued, his gaze still landed at everywhere but Aoba. “I look forward to know more of you and by this, I end my speech. Do you have any questions?” 

The hall fell into dead silence. A few seconds passed by and people started whispering at each other. 

“Hey, everyone! Please feel free to throw him a few questions! He needs to get use to interacting with you since he wasn’t really sociable when he was here.” Noiz’s brother butted in and announced. 

The details were slowly sinking into Aoba by now. So Noiz was “transferred” here only because he needed to observe how the school worked instead of coming for real education purposes. He was his potential superior all along. That explained why he got summoned to the principal’s office so often; not because he was a problematic student, but because he was actually the one who owned the place. 

There was also the time when Aoba accidentally saw Noiz working on complicated work on his laptop when they were in his house. Those were reports of school happenings. Those were _real work_. And that was also why he could escape from being penalized even when he never attended classes. If that ever happened to any other student, they would be kicked out of the school under normal circumstances. 

But Noiz’s case wasn’t _normal_ at all. 

Everything made sense now. 

Why didn’t he tell him? Why did he keep him in the dark? Because he couldn’t trust him? And why was he refusing to look at him now? Was he angry at him? For being so useless and timid? 

Or was he merely one of his learning tools? 

Did he hate him now? 

Students had started throwing questions at Noiz when Aoba got distracted from his own thoughts. Noiz was casually answering the questions when a female student stood up and asked. 

“Noiz-kun, since it’s Valentine’s today, I would like to ask if you are taken?” 

Everyone’s eyes darted from the student to Noiz in lightning speed. There was no obvious change in Noiz’s expression; but then, he gave out a light smile and replied, in a firmed and confident manner, even more assertive than any other questions he’d answered earlier. 

“I’m taken.” 

The hall evoked into an uproar. Aoba squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. That two simple words had drove his mind crazy. 

Did he found another person? 

He was starting to feel breathless when another person stood up and asked. 

“What kind of person is she?” 

Noiz’s smiled. Closing his eyes, he gave out a small sigh as he continued. 

“He’s extremely stubborn, way too kind for his own good and too simple-minded, sometimes he didn’t even know it when people took advantage of him. And when you stop giving him enough attention, he would start deploying his own speculation and drive himself crazy.” He paused for a brief moment. “But he was the one who changed me; the one I love with all my heart and the one I’m willing to devote my entire life to.” 

Now everyone was moving to the next question, the most natural thing to do – who was it? 

Aoba couldn’t take it anymore. The truth was already too much for him to stomach and now he had to listen to Noiz talking publicly about his new love interest. It was driving him mad. Standing up, without a care if it was disrespectful or not, he walked away from the crowd; from Noiz; from everything. He needed to reconsider his decision to continue staying in this school. This was too overwhelming. No, it was too much for his emotions to bear. 

“Seragaki Aoba.” 

….Huh? 

Aoba’s hand was already on the door knob when the mention of his name halted his action. Turning around and back to the crowd, he saw Noiz gaze on him. 

“He’s mine.” 

Time stopped. He felt a few hundreds of piercing gazes on him. He never knew how to deal with attention, and this kind of attention was million times worse than any other attention he’d received. 

He stood frozen on the same spot as Noiz left the stage and ran towards him. Every step Noiz took felt like a direct punch to his chest. When he finally stood in front of him, Aoba stared at him, unable to ignore the slight trembles all over him as Noiz raised his hand slowly and cupped his face. His time was stopped at the moment he stood up from his chair. But when Noiz came dangerously close to him, he quickly pushed him away, holding the door knob for dear support. 

“I think I’ve made my point clear enough.” Noiz announced, turning back to face the gaped crowd. 

“….What are you doing, idiot.” Aoba muttered. 

But Noiz merely smiled at him as he leaned closer and whispered. 

“We’ll continue in the principal office later.” 

And he paced back to the front of the hall, as if nothing had happened. He didn’t go back up the stage; instead, he walked towards the front row of the seats and stopped in front of Koujaku, who seemed to have finally regained his composure. 

“That was a huge shock, brat.” 

“Mind your language, I’m supposed to be your superior from today onwards.” Noiz smirked. 

“Like hell I care, I’ll call you brat as long as I live.” 

“Heh.” 

As if working on impulse, Koujaku pulled him in for a tight embrace. 

“I’m so proud of you, although it’s unfair for you to hide this from us all this while. But you’ve grown so well. I’m so fucking proud of you.” 

Noiz smiled. 

“Mind your language, old man.” 

\--

 

Aoba stood in front of the huge door leading towards the principal office. He had never been to this part of the school before. The principal office was the only room located on the highest floor of the building. The moment Aoba stepped out of the elevator, he instantly felt a kind of prestigious atmosphere which strongly reminded him of a national library. Losing count of exactly how many times he’d withdrew his hand from the door in front of him, he stood rooted, feeling extremely nervous and excited at the same time. 

It was just Noiz. Why was he so afraid of the brat? 

He’d publicly announced their relationship to the entire school and he should feel very relieved to know that Noiz’s feelings towards him were still unchanged and he was still the shitty brat he knew. There was nothing different about him, except the way he dressed, the way he spoke to the school, the way he became more expressive and responsible, the way his face was clean off piercings…. 

Wait, that was quite a lot. 

Sighing, Aoba turned his back towards the door, attempting to leave and clear his mind first but before he could do that, the door opened and he was pulled into the room. 

“Wh—“ 

“How long more do you intend to make me wait?” 

The voice he heard right beside his ear was none other but the familiar monotonous, husky voice Noiz always used on him when they were alone. Feeling slightly relieved, he turned around, wanted to properly face him when Noiz pulled him into a tight embrace, burying his head into his shoulder. 

“I missed you so much, Aoba. So, so much.” 

His mutters were soft but the warmth and longing clenching Aoba’s heart were enough to make him cry. All the pent up emotions he’d tried hard to suppress all these while flowing out of him mercilessly. 

“I missed you too, Noiz. I missed you so much.” 

They stayed in each other’s arms for a few silent seconds before Noiz broke the embrace and kissed the tears off Aoba’s eyes. Aoba noticed that ever since they started becoming more intimate, Noiz always liked to plant kisses on his eyes, be it kissing the tears off or merely out of impulse. He’d said that it was an act to suck his sorrow away but Aoba knew that it was merely a tender display of affection no matter how much of a sweet talker Noiz was. 

He raised his hand and traced Noiz’s features slowly, as tender as when he’d first touched Noiz’s piercings. The piercings were gone now, and it felt refreshing for him to be able to feel Noiz’s skin without any interferences. 

“Are you really Noiz?” He muttered unconsciously, as if he was speaking his mind out. 

“You want proof?” 

That was the last thing he heard when Noiz pulled his hand off his face and leaned in, diving his tongue into his mouth and licking every corner of it. 

 _Ah, this is Noiz_. 

He might have taken off every one of the piercing on his face; but as the familiar metal clanking sound resonated from the inside of his mouth, he knew that he’d left the tongue piercing alone. Perhaps it was due to the attachment he had towards that piercing; or perhaps it could also be the memory he possessed towards it. That was how they’d shared their first intimate kiss. 

Breaking off, Noiz wrapped his arms around Aoba’s waist, planting another kiss on the forehead and said. 

“Thank you for all the replies.” 

“Huh? What replies?” 

“All the messages you sent me.” 

“Wait, you received those? Isn’t your number out of service?” 

“I just reactivated the number and thanks to great telecommunication service, I managed to retrieve messages that were sent to me within the past one month. They were all yours.” 

Feeling the heat rising uncontrollably to his face, Aoba pouted and buried his face in Noiz’s chest, not knowing how to respond. His wish came true, but this was such an embarrassing way to discover it. 

“And now I only need one final reply.” 

“What is it?” Aoba murmured into Noiz’s chest. 

“I believe I sent you a message this morning.” 

“Huh?” 

Aoba didn’t recall receiving any messages from Noiz. If he did, he would’ve seen all these coming. As he shot Noiz a confused look, Noiz’s eyes brightened, suddenly realizing something. 

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know it was from me because I was using another number.” 

“Huh?” 

Noiz took his phone out of his suit pocket, typed a few words in and pressed on the send button. Aoba’s phone beeped not long after that and he opened up to see a foreign number in his message inbox. 

 _Will you be my Valentine?_  

He gaped, eyes darting from the five simple words to Noiz. Noiz was eyeing him eagerly and when Aoba nodded shyly, he broke into a genuine, happy smile as he pulled him into an embrace again, slowly playing with the tip of his hair as he muttered. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t continue contacting you for the past month. I had to return to my home country and catch up with work before I could return here.”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?” 

“I know. I also know how miserable I made you feel.” 

Cupping Aoba’s face, Noiz pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes. 

“Don’t worry, Aoba. We’ll have all the time in the world to catch up with each other now.” 

“What’s with the goodbye message? I thought you wanted to break up with me…” 

Surprised, Noiz looked up to see Aoba’s gloomy expression, making his heart twitch. 

“That message was how it was. I was no longer a student when I come back, so there’s no need to call you a teacher anymore.” Noiz explained, but then he broke into a teasing smirk when Aoba’s face turned from a depressed one to a disgruntled one. “Or you would prefer me to continue calling you that?” 

Smacking Noiz’s head, Aoba bellowed angrily. 

“You should’ve told me about this whole ‘I’m a spy for the school’ thing in the first place!” 

“I tried to. But you wouldn’t reply.” 

 _I need to tell you something_. 

Feeling incredibly stupid, Aoba gulped and looked away from Noiz. 

“But you’ll always be my teacher, Aoba. You’ve taught me so much. You taught me everything.” Noiz continued. “As I said, you’re a good teacher.” 

Then, the realization hit him. 

“Wait, did you promote me?” 

“Yes, I did.” 

“Why would you do that?!” 

“Because you’re worth it.” Noiz’s reply was simple but it conveyed everything Aoba needed to know. 

“All those things you told me about your ancient teacher made me feel like doing a thorough background check of the staff in this school.” Noiz continued as he retreated to his working table and scribbled down notes. “And I would like to ask you if you’re okay with bringing Sei in to work as a chef here? The cafeteria’s food tastes weird.” 

So he was listening, after all. 

Beaming, Aoba ruffled Noiz’s hair, causing him to stop whatever he was doing and looked up with an annoyed face. 

“You’ve really grown up.” 

“Thanks to all your long speech about being a useful person and all those smacking I got from you. But most importantly,” Noiz paused as he bent down and retrieved something from under his huge working desk. “..your persistence and you as a person changed me, Aoba. I want to become a useful person not only for myself, but also for you.” 

As he held the bouquet of roses under his nose, Aoba felt his rationale leaving him as soreness attacked his nose. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Aoba. Thank you for being part of my life. I love you.” 

That was all Aoba needed to dive into Noiz’s embrace again. As he muttered a quiet “I love you too, brat” and as they dived back to their deep kiss, Aoba made a firm determination to celebrate every Valentine’s Day with Noiz. 

He would continue teaching him about the beauty of the world, about life, and help him discover more about himself. Because he was not only his lifelong teacher, but also his lifelong lover.

 

_You’ll continue teaching me, right, sensei?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Surprise! lmao the additional chapter isn't really a last chapter but more like a sub-chapter to fill in some of the gaps, though it would be focusing solely on Koujaku's POV. I was thinking of writing this extra chapter because you people are so terrifyingly supportive to me the entire time I was writing this but also just in case, it would base very heavily on Koujaku's & Noiz's relationship, if you're fine with that :))


	7. Extra: The Unworldly Lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This extra chapter fills in the plot gap between Koujaku & Noiz, covering the history between them. It takes place before the main story.
> 
> It also covers a short after-story between Noiz & Aoba.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to complete this story as a whole so here it is :)
> 
> This story is finally perfectly completed. Thanks for reading :)

Koujaku had a problem.

He never had a problem with any of his students before and the fact that _this particular student_ was giving him massive headaches frustrated him greatly. He wasn't given any ~~useful~~ information besides the ‘transfer student – third year’ scribble on his student enrollment form which was handed to him when the said student was being allocated into _his_ class. There wasn't much self-introduction except for a nonchalant ‘Nice to meet you’ which was muttered in an obviously insincere way. He wasn't like any of the other students Koujaku had encountered. It didn't bother the tutor at first, assuming that he was just trying to get used to his new environment. It wasn't an unusual case. It was just a common phase most students had to go through during their study life.

But being uninterested with _anything at all_ wasn't normal, even for a new student.

“Noiz.”

The young blond moved his gaze away from the sight outside the window and looked up to see his homeroom teacher staring down at him, a small scowl visible between his eyebrows.

The moment their eyes met, Noiz shot him an impassive gaze and shifted his attention back to the happenings outside of his window. Unsatisfied with the lack of response, Koujaku followed his gaze and noticed that he was staring unblinkingly at a group of students who were hanging out under a tree with their lunch boxes.

“Why aren't you joining them?” the tutor asked. That was the best he could come out with in order to probe words out of the third-year’s mouth, even when he realized it sounded forced.

“What’s the point for me to do so?”

Yeah, he managed to make him talk. But Noiz’s tone boiled his blood for some reason and – trying very hard to uphold his composure as a tutor – he continued the conversation, trying hard not to sound too harsh at the same time.

“It’s a chance for you to meet new friends and—“

“What can they do for me?”

“…what?”

The interruption cut Koujaku’s words short as he stared disbelievingly at Noiz’s emotionless profile. He had figured that this new kid could be a handful to handle but he’d never expected him to be so detached.

Assuming Koujaku’s silence as the end of their conversation, Noiz turned away from him again, leaving the tutor to gape uneasily at him.

 

He was surprised by the loud sound he’d unintentionally made when he slammed his office door shut behind him. Being unable to properly control his temper was a bad habit of the senior tutor that had occasionally invited trouble into his room. Hastily pulling the curtain on his window to hide himself from view, he was about to sit down when someone knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

He didn't need to look up to know who had just walked into the room. Upon hearing the sound of door closing, he looked up to see Mink standing in front of his work desk with a clipboard in his hand.

“Do you need anything?”

Mink grunted. Slamming the clipboard on the table, his scowl was shortly returned by Koujaku’s own frown as he replied with a gravelly voice.

“The whole office experienced an earthquake thanks to your tantrum.”

Koujaku snorted. He pulled the clipboard over to himself and read the content before he quickly scribbled on it and pushed it back to Mink. He was about to go back to his work when he realized that Mink was still rooted on the same spot.

“Anything else you need from me?”

“Are you going to explain what the cause for your outrage is?”

The senior tutor clicked his tongue and looked up again.

“It’s nothing too serious, just annoyed with an overly arrogant brat.”

“You meant the transfer student?”

There was no reply from Koujaku but the answer was obvious. Sighing, Mink took the clipboard from the table and slammed it hard on Koujaku’s head.

“Ouch! What was that for?!” Koujaku raged, massaging his head and glaring at Mink at the same time.

“It’s not like you to get all worked up over a brat. Get a hang of yourself.” Mink simply replied before he walked out of the office without another word.

It was true that Koujaku rarely got so fired up with any of his students. His calm composure was his personal trademark and it was that that he was able to confront any and almost all of his student’s problems, eventually pushing him up as one of the most influential tutors in the school.

The fact that he was getting all riled up with a student he’d barely knew for hours was starting to annoy him greatly as he slumped back against his chair and gave out a huge sigh, starting to doubt his professionalism at the same time.

 

***

 

“Hey.”

The next day, Koujaku confronted Noiz in class again. The transfer student merely gave him the exact same indifferent expression he’d wore from the previous day and immediately looked away in the next second. Ignoring the slight twitch in his eye, Koujaku strode straight towards him and stood right in front of him, blocking whatever he was looking at.

“What do you want?” Noiz looked up, annoyance obvious in his tone.

“Do you have a problem?”

“What?”

Even if he _did_ have a problem, Koujaku was positive that he wouldn’t tell him no matter how hard he tried to force words out of his mouth. But there was also no way that he would allow himself to ignore the brat. He was part of his responsibility and he needed to shoulder that.

“It’s none of your business. Leave me alone,” Noiz retorted without giving Koujaku time to unbundle his contradictions.

Annoyed, Koujaku slammed the pile of books he’d been holding in his hand on the table and grabbed Noiz by the arm, pulling him up.

“What’s the problem with you?” Noiz continued his retorts, struggling to break free from Koujaku’s strong grasp but to no avail.

“Come with me.”

The senior tutor led Noiz into the staff room, opened the door to his office and pushed Noiz into a chair as he paced and sat down on his own chair, now staring penetratingly at Noiz while the latter shrugged and looked away, seemingly uninterested with whatever the tutor was going to say or do now.

“If you have any problems, I’m here to help you.”

Noiz raised one of his eyebrows in response to the blunt statement but immediately moved his gaze elsewhere, refusing to face Koujaku.

“Now, tell me. Is there _anything_ at all that you need help with?” Koujaku continued, still unwilling to give up.

They sank into silence for a few moments. When Noiz realized that Koujaku had no intention to let him go without probing at least something out of his mouth, he gave out a soft sigh and turned to look at his tutor.

“I’m fine. Thanks for your concern. Can I go now?”

The impatience in his voice boiled Koujaku’s blood further and he clenched his fist, trying hard to stop himself from exploding at Noiz.

There was definitely something that Noiz was hiding from him but he was obviously unwilling to comply and that was completely understandable.

“…alright. But if you’ve got anything that you need help with, you know who to look for,” he surrendered, finally realizing that it was no use to dwell with it any longer. It would probably push Noiz further if he was to continue forcing him to speak up anyway.

Instead of a verbal response, what Koujaku drew out of Noiz was a small smirk and a taunting stare. When the third-year stood up, Koujaku eyed him warily, gaze filled with anticipation towards his next action.

“Why would you do that?”

_What?_

“That’s obviously because I’m your tutor.”

“Oh,” Noiz muttered, the dispassionate expression once again covered his profile as he shifted his gaze to the door instead. “Of course, how could I forget? It’s all part of responsibility.”

He left before Koujaku could explain himself.

 

***

 

Koujaku had a huge problem now.

Not only that he couldn’t figure out exactly what was Noiz’s problem, he couldn’t even get through to him. It left him with a weird sort of helplessness that he’d never experienced before and it was starting to distress him greatly.

He spent the entire week trying to figure Noiz out – he used his free time talking to him, he attempted to drag him to various places in the school ground, and he even went to the extent of making him stay back after school just so he could keep an eye on him. But no matter what he did, his effort was responded with more silent treatments.

Noiz was obviously unconcerned with all the approaches Koujaku had made. But after a few attempts of trying to shake Koujaku off, he gave up, finally realizing that Koujaku had too many eyes around and that the entire school was, in fact, his territory. It was near to impossible for him, a newcomer – an intruder – to escape from his surveillance. Although he’d surrendered to his fate and had allowed Koujaku to interfere with his life, it was still impossible for him to be all friendly with his tutor. He wasn’t used to closure, especially not with someone who was obviously a lot older than him.

He didn’t even have the strength to shake him off anymore, even when he found him extremely disturbing.

Koujaku, on the other hand, thought that time would bring them closer. But he was wrong. Nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.

He’d never been more frustrated with a student like Noiz in his entire teaching career.

 

***

 

“Calm down, Koujaku.”

Aggressively swallowing down the last of his alcohol, Koujaku set the glass back on the counter with a loud thump, immediately causing a few heads to turn towards their direction.

“Never. In my entire life.” Koujaku growled, pausing between words to demonstrate his fury. “By a damn brat.”

His incoherent speech drew out a light chuckle from Mizuki as the bartender replaced his empty glass with a full one.

“This is on the house,” he winked at Koujaku before he continued. “But don’t you think that you’re a bit overly concerned over this student? It’s not like you.”

 _It’s not like you_.

The glass was halted before it made it to his mouth, the words repeating unceasingly in his head. They sounded familiar. Oh, yeah. He’d heard the exact same words from Mink. Hearing them again from one of the persons who knew him best made him realize that he had not been himself ever since Noiz entered his life. The sudden awareness swept a wave of confusion straight into his chest. Scowling, he set his glass down again and stared at his own reflection from his drink before he looked up at Mizuki, who was staring expectantly at him.

“What are you talking about? It’s only normal for a tutor to be concerned over his student, no?”

Mizuki gave out a small smirk.

“That’s true. But you’re being _overly_ concerned and that’s not normal at all, Koujaku.”

The conversation ended there but the odd frustration Koujaku had within him followed him home later on.

It was something _more_ than mere concern, and he knew it all too well.

 

***

 

Koujaku continued spending the next few months with more fruitless attempts with Noiz. The young blond had been staying back in Koujaku’s office every day now. He still believed that if he tried hard enough, he’d be able to probe something out of Noiz’s mouth eventually. But Noiz merely fiddled with his own laptop most of the time, the ignorance definitely not helping Koujaku in improving things between them.

Even when Noiz seemed to be distracted most of the time in class, he excelled in his first two semesters with flying colors, leaving Koujaku and his classmates to drop their jaws in awe. The tutor had thought that he’d use the excuse of Noiz’s poor results to bring him closer and to offer him help. But the limited options he had were further thinned now that Noiz had proven to him that he wouldn’t need anyone’s help at all. He was doing fine all by himself.

The helpless situation left Koujaku in a state of frustration. He was glad that Noiz was intelligent enough in terms of his studies, but at the same time, he also realized that Noiz had built his walls so high up to the extent that it was almost impossible to climb over those walls, let alone breaking through them. There wasn’t much Koujaku could do besides holding him back even more and continue hoping that he would open up by himself one day.

He knew that it’d take time, but he also knew that he was running out of time.

 

***

 

Midorijima High School had this practice of having the school’s staff to patrol the school grounds on a regular basis. Both Koujaku and Mink, being one of the very few tutors who had been staying for the longest time ever in the school, were the ones responsible for these duties allocation.

It was one of the normal days when Noiz almost dozed off in Koujaku’s class (effectively earning a scowl from Koujaku every time he entered the tutor’s line of sight). Before Koujaku could call out to him, the third-year suddenly brightened his eyes, his head lowered down to look at something on his lap when he suddenly stood up.

“Washroom,” he announced briefly before dashing out of the room.

After almost six months of having Noiz in his class, this was the first time ever that Koujaku had witnessed such an unusual behavior from him. Sensing a chance, he immediately put the class into self-revision periods as he dashed after Noiz, all the way to the backyard.

“So you’ve got the thing I want?”

Noiz’s voice echoed before Koujaku turned the corner and he quickly went back to the corner, hiding himself from view.

“You’ve got the money?”

The scene was strangely familiar to Koujaku. He’d been a tutor in the school for years, and upon hearing the conversation, he instantly understood what was going on.

Before Noiz could reply, a loud thump was heard, then the sound of flesh hitting flesh, which immediately prompted Koujaku to run out of his hiding place and straight into the scene.

Six burly guys were surrounding Noiz, who was pressed against the wall as two of the men sent punches after punches mercilessly into his stomach. It was not the overpowering scene that had stunned Koujaku; it was the fact that Noiz wasn’t even defending himself when he obviously could. The small smirk that he witnessed on the third-year’s face sent slight shivers all over him as he swallowed hard to stop himself from shivering.

It was only after a whole minute of mere staring when Koujaku finally snapped back to reality. Rushing straight up, he pulled the two men away with destructive strength and stood in front of Noiz, defending him.

“Stop right now! I’m a tutor in this school and I know where you’re from. Get lost before I report this to your school.”

It did the trick. The six men scattered out of sight right after, leaving both Koujaku and Noiz alone in the backyard.

The air around them was filled with awkwardness and faint intensity when Koujaku finally turned around, squatting down and ruffling Noiz’s hair as he wiped the blood off his forehead.

“You okay?”

Noiz was stunned. He was used to getting rough treatments and abusive punches like these. What he wasn’t used to was the way others showered him with such tender intimacy that overwhelmed him with a surge of undefined emotions. He wasn’t very comfortable with them. In fact, he didn’t want them. He wanted them to go away. He didn’t need any affection. They would only distract him.

He knew that he was here for another reason. He wasn’t a student. He shouldn’t be attached to anyone or anything here. He shouldn’t allow all these distractions to sidetrack him away from what he really needed to do.

On top of all, what really confused him was the fact that Koujaku was acting weirdly at him. He knew that people didn’t treat him well just because they wanted to. They were after something, they always were.

He looked up at Koujaku, eyes still lack of emotions. Then, he gave out a small smirk.

“So, what do you want? Sex? Money? Or both?”

The punch he felt on his face right after he’d blurted the question out was far more aggressive than the punches he’d received when he was facing the delinquents earlier.

It shocked him. This was the first time he’d ever received such response.

It confused him.

He’d lived through half of his life with that mindset and he’d always been right.

People only approached him for sex or money. He always thought that that was the only reason people approached him. He’d always expected people to start negotiating their conditions with him right after he’d proposed the question.

But Koujaku’s response was different.

Why? What made this time any different?

He could only repeat the question in his own head. He didn’t even want to throw the question out at Koujaku and he couldn’t understand why he didn’t do that.

Probably, if he’d really asked Koujaku about it, he’d get all the answers he needed. He’d clear all these confusions away.

But he didn't ask him.

Why?

Before he could contemplate further, Koujaku’s face came into his line of sight. Squatting in front of him, the older man had placed his hand on top of Noiz’s head again, ruffling it aggressively until Noiz looked up and shot him an annoyed glare.

“Are you okay?”

_Why? Why are you asking me this after you’d hurt me?_

_Why?_

He never voiced his thoughts out. He merely stared at the old man, confused.

“What do you want?”

He refused to believe that someone _different_ had entered his life. It shouldn't be that way.

The seconds tricked by, the air froze around them.

He was waiting – waiting for the answer he was expecting. Everything would be solved with that answer. Everything would go back to how it was. He would live his life normally again.

He just needed the answer.

But it didn't come. Koujaku merely stared at him with a hint of misery in his eyes. And upon seeing that, he felt that bizarre, unfamiliar emotions in him all over again.

He’d never seen those emotions before and it was making him feel weird. He felt as if he was starting to lose himself. And he was scared.

He laughed.

_He was scared._

He couldn't believe that he could actually feel fear. It amused him. The man in front of him amused him.

_This annoying, disturbing old man._

 

***

 

He couldn't bring himself to attend classes anymore after that. Seeing the old man made him feel weird and he disliked the feeling. He was so sure that he knew everything about himself and everything about the people around him. In fact, he was so positive that he knew what people wanted from him.

But Koujaku was different. He’d approached him for an unknown reason and he was extremely troubled by it. He didn't like it when there was something he didn't know. Thus, he figured that the best thing to do now was to keep himself away from Koujaku until he finally figured the answer out.

But it was obviously a one-sided desire. After that incident, Koujaku started becoming more upfront with him. The usual silent treatments were gone. Instead, they were replaced by constant stalking and nonstop blabbering by Koujaku whenever they set their eyes on each other. Even when he was not attending classes, Koujaku seemed to be able to locate exactly where he was. Noiz no longer had the strength to push him away. Continuing being ignorant as he always did, he hoped that the message could reach Koujaku and he’d stop all his confrontations.

But his approach backfired on him.

Koujaku started talking to him, a lot. At first it was disconcerting for Noiz. He wasn't interested with what food Koujaku liked, or even what Koujaku did after his working hours. But the more Koujaku talked to him, the more he got interested with all these seemingly unimportant details. The annoying, unnamed emotions he’d feel every time Koujaku filled him in with these details always put a cringe on his face, and he was even surprised to realize the distressing emotions he felt within him when Koujaku told him about the girls he’d found to be attractive in the school. He even started to take note of what Koujaku would eat for lunch every day and he would then search it up on the Internet when the old man wasn't looking. Koujaku had started to invade his thoughts and it happened to him in an unconscious way.

He knew he wasn't supposed to be sidetracked. But it happened and he couldn't help it.

Every time he met Koujaku, he felt even more confused. Until at one point of time, he abruptly decided to just back out. He stopped attending school, only appearing in the school ground twice a week. It put Koujaku in more frustration as he would involuntarily shift his gaze to the empty seat in the classroom and give out a huge sigh before he tried to pick his composure up and continue with the class again.

This situation had continued for a few weeks before Koujaku finally lost his patience and found his way to wait for Noiz in front of the school gate when he knew that Noiz had attended school. He needed to settle this, once and for all. Dragging it in such way would only cause more damage to the both of them.

“Noiz!”

The third-year didn't even turn to see who had just called him before he made a run, only to be caught firmly in the wrist by Koujaku, who had caught up to him with just a few quick steps.

He didn't want to face him, not when he hadn't figured out his own feelings yet.

“We need to talk.”

Koujaku had said. Noiz knew that this day would come but he wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready to talk to Koujaku. He needed more time. But Koujaku obviously wasn't ready to comply with his wish.

“Let me go,” the three words took away all of his remaining struggling power.

“Like hell I would. If I let you go now, I won’t be able to see you again for another few weeks.”

That was exactly what Noiz was going to do. He didn't have the time or the strength to break himself out of Koujaku’s clutch as he found himself being dragged back into the school ground, along the now-quiet corridor, up the staircases, and ultimately, on the rooftop.

When he was finally forced to look at Koujaku, he was surprised to notice the furious heartbeat pounding in his own ears the moment he set eyes on the older man. He’d never get to see his tutor in such a close range before. Now that he finally did, he realized that he had a pair of beautiful ruby-colored eyes that could easily grab the soul off anyone’s gaze. He didn't notice the small scar on the bridge of his nose, and he was positive that he could be one of the very few persons who had gotten the chance to notice that.

“Why are you doing this?”

Koujaku’s firm tone grasped him back to reality as he continued staring, not knowing what to say.

“Why are you purposely falling back?” Koujaku pressed, his hands on Noiz’s shoulders becoming stronger with every word he said.

He had no answers to those questions. Those are questions that he had been repeatedly asking himself for the past month. He was irritated at himself for not being able to figure his own situation out.

He didn't even want to face it. He only wanted it to fade out of his mind across time so that he could properly focused on things he was supposed to concentrate on. He had no time for this.

“Noiz, why are you avoiding me?”

Koujaku’s never-ending questions were starting to garner an effect out of Noiz.

“Noiz, answer me!”

_I don’t know._

“Tell me!”

_I don’t know._

“Noiz!”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

He’d screamed his thoughts out before he knew it. Both of them froze on the spot. Time had frozen.

“What is it that you don’t—“ Koujaku asked warily, but his voice was soon cut off before he could even finish it.

“Stop…”

“Noiz?”

Noiz was shivering. He could clearly feel his trembles against his fingers. It was apparent that Noiz had been keeping his own emotions bottled up all this while and the way Koujaku was trying to force them out of him had caused him to experience a breakdown.

“Stop whatever that you’re doing! Stop tailing me! Stop disturbing my life! Just stop everything!”

He had never screamed so loud in his entire life before. There was nothing Koujaku could do but stare shockingly at the way Noiz was trembling under his touch. Before he knew it, he was wiping the tears off the younger man’s face and pulling him into a tight embrace – an embrace so strong it almost knocked the air out of both of them.

“Idiot.”

 

 

There wasn't a need for any words to know exactly what their feelings towards each other were.

The raindrops that had started dropping on their skins right after they’d held each other in their arms soaked them wet. Noiz was used to cold and he wasn't bothered with it, not until now. The heartbeat he’d felt when Koujaku hold him close sent a pang of warmth right into his chest and the arms that were wrapped around him kept him comfortably warm. He’d never felt such intimacy before. It was as if he was being protected from everything, even from his own internal struggles. He wanted this moment to last, but when he unintentionally gave out a small sneeze, Koujaku released him and he – with shock – realized that he was missing the older man’s warmth as soon as it had left him.

“I don’t think we should stay here any longer,” Koujaku proclaimed, his gaze fixed on the sky covered with dark clouds. “This rain is going to continue for a while more. We need to find somewhere with shade.”

Noiz remained silent, still trying to recover from the sudden change of event. He’d spent his entire time avoiding Koujaku. It was ironic of how much he was yearning for the old man to stay close to him now. He didn't know that feelings could be shifted in such a rapid way.

He couldn't make out what Koujaku was telling him. The sound of the heavy downpour was too deafening, not to mention that his own heartbeat was pounding so loudly in his ears that all the sound around him was toned off. Koujaku was staring at him, as if he was waiting for something from him. But before he had the time to properly address the complication within him, he found himself being hauled off the school ground and onto a road he wasn't familiar with.

He didn't ask Koujaku anything. When he stepped into a place – a house – he was unfamiliar with, he glanced around, feeling the heat rising to his face upon realizing exactly where this place was. It wasn't hard to figure out who was the owner of the house. Koujaku’s shadow was in every corner of the place – the traditional Japanese touch which Noiz wasn't too fond of and also the pile of books that sat in a distinguished corner of the house, showing how passionate Koujaku was towards his job.

He was offered hot plates of dinner, which he dazedly accepted. Then, they sank into their own silence again, except that this time, it was a type of silence that both of them could comfortably indulged in – it was a type of silence that they needed to figure things out between them.

“A-Are you feeling alright?”

As usual, Koujaku was the one who broke the silence. Quietly nodding, Noiz heard a soft sigh of relief beside him and turned to see Koujaku staring unblinkingly at him. They quickly turned away the moment their eyes met, causing them to sink into silence once again.

“Thank you.”

Koujaku had to halt his messed up thoughts for a minute to properly digest what he had just heard. Did Noiz just thank him? As if searching for an answer, he looked at Noiz to see the younger man still averting his eyes, the faint tint of pink obvious on his cheeks. Smiling warmly, he reached out and pulled Noiz over, resting the brat’s head in between his neck and shoulder.

It took them some time, but he finally got Noiz to open up for him.

He could no longer remember how it had happened. The only thing still fresh in his mind was when Koujaku hold him once again, the warmth he was suddenly addicted to was wrapping him and he had overwhelmed in with so many undefined emotions that sent shivers all over his body. He crept his hand up to Koujaku’s face and caressed it, slowly tracing his feature until the older man pulled them apart and gazed longingly into Noiz’s eyes instead.

Their lips found each other in the midst of their unstoppable passion.

He could no longer remember how it happened. When he finally managed to pull himself together, he was already pressing Noiz down against his bed, their bodies firmly pressed against each other. He’d never gotten the chance to properly see Noiz’s body before but the moment the young blond was lying sprawled across his bed, he felt a slight twinge of pain hitting him directly in the chest. There were a lot of scars on Noiz’s body. Looking at his scars reminded him of himself. He used to be a delinquent himself during his schooling days but he didn't remember having too many scars like Noiz now when he was at his age. That fact hurt him badly.

He ended up kissing on every single scar – deep or not – he could find on Noiz’s body, as if he was trying to kiss them all away. Noiz was barely vocal, but when soft moans started spilling out of his mouth, it riled Koujaku up in ways he couldn't imagined.

In fact, he couldn't even believe that he was doing this with Noiz – his student.

Upon realizing his hesitation before he’d pushed himself into him, Noiz had lurched forward and planted a gentle kiss on Koujaku’s lips.

“We’re no longer teacher and student the moment we stepped out of the school ground.”

His words worked like a remedy for Koujaku’s insecurities and before he knew it, he was pounding hard into Noiz, completely drown in raw passion and intense lust.

 

 

When he opened his eyes the next morning, he still found himself having difficulties believing what had happened in the previous night. He was at the verge of convincing himself that it was just a dream until he felt a weight shifting on his arm, looking down to see Noiz staring up at him, his lime-green orb mischievously stimulating.

“Good morning.”

He couldn't remember when his last morning kiss was.

Nothing much had changed between them after that. The only obvious – perhaps the only one that mattered to Koujaku – change was the fact that Noiz had become more upfront with him. Instead of having to hold him back, Noiz started staying back after school on his own will. He became so close to Koujaku, the way Koujaku had wanted. He should feel extremely glad with this positive change, but his feelings told him otherwise. Noiz’s drastic change towards him had left him in a daze, how he felt towards him then and how he felt towards him now was so strikingly different that it was starting to confuse him. When Noiz pecked him on the cheek one day after class, he swore he could feel himself at the verge of bursting into flames out of embarrassment.

“Are you not eating anything?”

Koujaku had become so sensitive with everything Noiz did that the moment he heard the younger male’s voice overtaking the silence in his office, he dropped his pen unintentionally.

“Hey.”

He used to be troubled by the less to zero existence of Noiz’s voice whenever they shared the same space. But now, Noiz’s voice had turned into a sort of bliss for him, to the extent that he wasn't sure if it was starting to become a distraction or something else entirely.

Finally sitting straight up, he looked at Noiz to see the third-year still staring at him as he supported his chin with his knuckles.

“I’ll eat later. You go ahead first,” he finally replied after a soft cough to hide his awkwardness.

“Hmm,” Noiz hummed. After giving Koujaku another few seconds of unwavering stare, he returned to his laptop, bringing them back to the initial silence they were so used to sharing.

“Hey.”

This time, it was Koujaku who initiated the conversation.

“What?”

“Are you not eating?”

“…waiting for you,” Noiz replied nonchalantly, eyes glued to the laptop screen.

God, there was no way he could win this brat.

Sighing loudly, Koujaku stood up and closed all the documents he was working on.

“Let’s go,” he said, moving towards the door at the same time.

He didn't see Noiz’s face when they stepped out of the office, but he needn't to see it to know that he was smiling, and that was already more than enough to convince him that he’d made the right decision.

 

***

 

It took more time than he thought he needed for Koujaku to get used to the sudden intimacy they were sharing. Things had changed drastically between them. He’d gotten Noiz to be more outspoken. He should be happy about it. But there was one thing that he couldn't ignore – the weird, out-of-place feeling that kept him awake at odd hours in the night.

The question of ‘Is this what I really want?’ kept repeating unceasingly in his head ever since they had started sharing this undefined relationship between them. True enough, Noiz had become more upfront, but Koujaku couldn't shake this hunch of him still hiding something from him out of his head. Not to mention that he was also constantly facing his own internal conflicts of not being good enough to further influence Noiz towards the better. Even when he did try to reach out to Noiz, he couldn't seem to be able to understand him completely.

When he talked to Mizuki about it, the bartender merely gave him a shocking expression, then a comforting smile, urging him to just do what he believed was the best for both of them.

“I’m not sure how should I put these into words but… it feels as if something’s wrong. I know I managed to make him talk, but it just doesn't feel right,” he confessed before he emptied the third cup of his alcohol for the night.

“Well, I think I know where your insecurities come from,” Mizuki said after a few moments of slow understanding of the situation. “He was initially just another student for you and you only reached out to him out of a pure sense of responsibility. Now that he’s becoming more receptive towards his environment…. Perhaps you’re feeling as if you have fulfilled your responsibility and that it should end there and then, without any strings attached?”

Mizuki’s words got him thinking. He admitted that he had initially approached Noiz out of a pure sense of responsibility and that his only objective was to open Noiz up to his environment. If he was talking from a tutor’s point of view, it was indeed true that he no longer felt the need to be involved with Noiz any further now that he had achieved what he wanted.

Then, the question that remained was: did he love Noiz?

He felt a small hint of pain in his chest the moment that question popped into his head. He loved Noiz. He had no doubt about that. But he also knew that he wasn't the right person to guide Noiz through his growth. He might be able to support him for a while, but their paths would eventually branch off and at the end of the day, they would only have themselves to look out for themselves. Noiz still had a long road in front of him, whereas his path was almost set on the track he wanted to pursue. He didn't want to be the one who would pull Noiz back.

He didn't even want to imagine how painful it would be when the time came for them to part ways.

Drowning the fifth cup of alcohol down his throat, he cleared his bill and bid a quick farewell to Mizuki. He always visited the bar when he was facing a problem, and whenever he left the place, he would have half of his problem solved.

Now he needed to deal with the other half of the problem.

 

***

 

Breaking the news to Noiz was perhaps the hardest thing he had to do in his entire life. They had been in such an intimate and comfortable relationship for a while now. The sudden change of event must be devastating to him. But no matter how painful it would be, Koujaku still preferred to face it now rather than having to face it later, which would definitely be a lot more excruciating. When he finally faced him, Koujaku swallowed, again and again, unsure of the proper way to start the conversation.

But Noiz was a sharp man. He was observant enough to notice Koujaku’s unusual behavior and had gave him a long, questioning stare, urging him to spill everything out before the older man had the chance to find for an escape route.

“We need to talk,” Koujaku said, finally found his voice.

When he’d said these exact words the last time, their relationship had taken a huge turn. Now that Noiz was hearing it once again, his heart sank, immediately realizing what was going to happen.

Their relationship was about to take _another_ huge turn.

“About our relationship…” Koujaku stuttered, his voice trailing off before Noiz raised a hand to stop him from continuing.

“Just tell me which is it – you’re trying to clarify it or..” Noiz paused, the remaining words stabbed him in the heart before he even rolled them out of his tongue. “..you want to end it?”

Koujaku’s eyes brightened at his last few words and he swallowed, again.

Noiz wasn't a patient person, especially when it came to things as important as these. Seeing that Koujaku was having difficulties putting his thoughts into words, he spoke again,

“Well, you could just nod or shake your head then.” He took a deep breath “Do you want to clarify our relationship?”

He saw the lump moving in Koujaku’s throat and before he could answer, Noiz continued.

“Do you want to… put a stop to it?”

The abrupt continuation caught Koujaku off guard. He stared at Noiz for another few seconds before he gave him a firm nod.

 _He nodded_.

“I’m sorry, Noiz,” he quickly justified. “I just feel that.. it wasn't appropriate. What we did was merely out of impulse.”

Noiz could once again hear his own heartbeat in his ears. But this time, he was pretty sure that it those pounding weren't born out of raw passion.

It was out of pain.

“I’m not the right person.”

_Then who is the right person?_

He wanted to shout that out to Koujaku, but he was too devastated to even mutter anything. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving Koujaku alone, completely overwhelmed with his own regrets and guilt.

He thought he’d found himself a guardian.

He only wanted to be happy.

But it was all a short-termed illusion.

He should've expected this to happen.

He thought everything had finally fallen into the right places. But the perfect picture was crushed.

_Everything was crushed._

 

***

 

Later on, Noiz disappeared from classes again, something Koujaku had expected. He’d felt a huge bunch of regrets for this decision. He should’ve done it after Noiz had left the school. He fell into a huge bunch of contradiction. He didn't know what to do or who he should turn to in order for him to make the situation better.

Mink had noticed the change of behavior in him. He’d obviously noticed their unusual relationship. When everything fell apart, he’d noticed Koujaku flashing that annoying fake smile of his more often than usual. And before Koujaku could even break the whole incident to him, he’d confronted the senior tutor and forced everything out of his mouth.

There was nothing both of them could do. Koujaku was the only person who could approach Noiz. No one other than him could do a better job in opening Noiz up. If he could no longer do the job, it literally meant that they’d lost all their options.

“Just give him some time,” Mink had suggested.

It was indeed a decent suggestion. Time was all Noiz needed – all _they_ needed. Perhaps that was the only solution to the problem.

Until..

“Koujaku!”

He turned to see his childhood friend running frantically and panting heavily when he finally stood in front of him.

“Yo, Aoba! I’m glad you make it here safely,” he smiled.

They were on Noiz’s topic again before Aoba had interrupted them. Mink shot Koujaku a suggestive stare upon seeing Aoba, which was shortly returned by Koujaku’s own knowing nod.

_Perhaps he needed someone else to enlighten him. Someone who could do a better job than me. Someone who… he could properly relate to._

Mink had heard of this suggestion before, but at that moment of time, he thought that it was merely an unconscious blurt of thought. He never knew that he was actually serious about it.

When he grasped Aoba’s hand, he could only stare at the cheerful young man in front of him, countless possibilities running through his brain.

Probably it would work this time.

Probably it would finally work.

…and it did.

What Noiz needed was not only security and comfort, but also a companion that could watch him grow. He held limitless potential in himself and he needed someone to be by his side, to see things on the same level as him, and to grow with him throughout his entire journey.

He needed someone who he could relate to.

And Koujaku knew that that someone was _Aoba_.

 

 

_“I know you had everything all planned out,” Noiz said to Koujaku when he dropped by the latter’s office for advice a month after he had become the principal of the school._

_“What are you talking about?” Koujaku asked._

_But he didn't get his answer. Smirking, Noiz stood up and held out his hand._

_“No matter what it is,” he continued, his voice as nonchalant as how Koujaku had remembered it to be. “I’m still grateful for everything that had happened between us. It taught me a lot of things and I would bring all these experiences into my grave with me.”_

_Koujaku was stunned for a few seconds before he stood up, smiling knowingly at Noiz and took his hand._

_“You’re still young. Stop saying things like that.”_

 

 

Even though they’d gone through a bumpy road together, Koujaku never regretted his decision. But he had to admit that he never thought that Noiz and Aoba would progress in such a rapid pace. He’d initially wanted to be friends, but he guessed things had worked out better than he’d thought it would be.

They were perfect together. Aoba didn't have too much of experience with life; even Noiz wasn't too experienced. Both of them needed the same thing – growth. They needed each other so that they could not only support each other along their journey, but also to learn from each other along the way.

 

Lighting his cigarette up, Koujaku leaned against the wall as he listened to the lighthearted conversation between Noiz and Aoba, who were sitting on the top of the roof of the store room with their lunch boxes.

“Did you smoke?” Aoba asked, sniffing the air at the same time.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Don’t lie, brat. I can smell it,” Aoba confronted as he scowled at the cheeky brat now happily gulping down his food.

“I didn’t, really.”

Shooting him a suspicious glare, Aoba went back to his lunch before he started with his daily nags.

“Smoking is bad for health, you know. It corrupts your lung.”

“Yes, yes, _sensei_.”

Noiz’s nonchalant reply earned him a flustered Aoba as the latter smacked him hard in the head, causing him to almost choke on his food.

“Ouch, that hur— oh, you got cream on your face.”

Before Aoba could respond, Noiz had leaned forward, licking the cream from Aoba’s birthday cake off his face.

“Hmm, sweet,” he ended with a swift lick on his lips.

“….insatiable brat.”

Even after he'd become the principle for almost half a year, Noiz never missed the chance to have lunch with Aoba on the rooftop, like how they always did.

 

Koujaku did not need to see Aoba’s face to know that he was wearing his usual pouting face with a faint tint of pink on his cheeks. Smiling warmly at the scene, he discarded his cigarette and quietly made his way back down. He’d need to finish up his work faster today. Aoba had invited him for his birthday dinner in his house. They would be joined by none other than Tae, Sei, and of course..

 

_His unworldly lover._

 

 

 


End file.
